Cuba develops mathematical models to fight dengue

Havana, March 24 (IANS) Cuba has developed mathematical models to help fight dengue, a media report said Friday.

Experts from Havana's Pedro Kouri Tropical Medicine Institute developed the models.

Spearheaded by young scientist Lizet Sanchez for Cuba's national health system, the models allow health officials to analyze outbreaks in real time so they can devise the best strategy to combat the disease, according to official daily Juventud Rebelde.

Sanchez has also designed a mathematical model to study the distribution of the dengue-carrying mosquito, Aedes Aegypti, and calculate the risk factors and assess the control mechanisms required in different regions and sectors of the population, reported Xinhua.

While Cuba is a leader in containing the spread of dengue, its epidemiological studies have so far been based only on descriptive statistics that could not be used to immediately devise combat strategies.

Dengue is not endemic to Cuba, but it is considered a serious scourge in Latin America, where more than one million people were infected in 2010 alone.