US embassy issues health alert for Cuba amid oil blockade, sanctions

HAVANA: The US embassy in Havana issued a health alert for Cuba on Friday (Sep 4), warning travellers and residents of a spike in intestinal illnesses and diarrhea caused by failing water and electricity supply, even as the Trump administration continued to hold back fuel shipments necessary for power generation on the island.

"The US Embassy has noted a significant increase in diarrheal illness across Cuba, associated with the continuing degradation of the water and energy infrastructure," the alert stated. "This degradation affects water supply, and food storage and temperature control."

The US warning comes nine months after the Trump administration imposed a fuel blockade on the communist-run island, contributing to a sharp spike in power cuts and complicating refrigeration and sanitary measures in homes and businesses.

UN-appointed human rights experts have called the Trump fuel blockade a violation of international law. A team of UN experts in August warned of a growing risk of disease outbreaks on the island as the US has tightened sanctions.

"The humanitarian consequences are already unfolding into a full-blown crisis, threatening the rights to health, to life, to food and to development," the experts said.

The Trump administration says sanctions are necessary to force a change in the island's government, a decades-long aim of the US following Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. Trump has called Cuba a national security threat to the United States.

Residents throughout Cuba have for months complained of rampant illnesses that cause several days of diarrhea, fever and body aches, leaving many bedridden.

During the Caribbean's sultry summer, sleep without air conditioning or a fan often becomes impossible, as does food preservation without refrigeration. Blackouts spanning days have become commonplace amid the US fuel blockade.

The US health alert on Friday advised travellers and residents in Cuba to "be cautious of ... perishable foods that may have been inadequately stored", and warned against eating "foods that appear to have been sitting at room temperature for extended periods".