Global Health and Clinical Laboratory Scientists in Cuba - Essay Example

Cuba is a communist state of Caribbean Island located in North America continent. Other Caribbean nations that neighbor Cuba are The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica among others. Its Capital City is Havana. The current president of Cuba is Raul Castro. The official language in Cuba is Spanish.

Cubas Culture

Cuba has a wide diversity of culture cutting across the global traditions mainly of Spanish origin. Other cultures in Cuba consists of a mixture of African, Asia and French influences.

Language. Almost all Cuban nationalities use Spanish as their spoken and written mode of communication. The Cuban people share a common dialect with other Caribbean islands nationalities though Cubans have a slight rhythmic speaking supported with unique expressive hand gestures. The local languages which used to be spoken by the indigenous people ceased to exist in the 18th century.

National identity. Just like any other nation that has gained independence, Cubans identify themselves nationally and internationally with the national anthem and the national flag. At the beginning of the first war to gain independence that lasted for ten years (1868 1878), the national anthem was composed. The third symbol is the flag of the 26th July Movement (M26J) which is used as a symbol of resistance against the dictatorial leadership of Fulgencio Batista and the invasion of the United States of America on Cuba.

Music. Cuba is rich in the music of African and Cuban (Afro-Cuban) tastes. The specific music of Afro-Cuban origin includes Jazz, Salsa dance, rhumba songs as well as many west African re-adaptations of Orchestra Baobab and Africando and a collection of genres in Latin America. Cuban music is enjoyed all over the world by fans and lovers of music. In fact, to Cubans, the culture of music sounds more of a national symbol of unity than a source of entertainment.

Clothing. For decades Cubans have worn traditional Western dresses. However, the semi-tropical climatic condition of Cuba has greatly influenced the clothing to be casual and loose wears. Men, mostly, wear cotton pants and a T-shirt or a loose shirt called Guayabera. This original, unique shirt to Cuban men and has been given honorary gesture and has been nicknamed the Mexican Wedding Shirt.

Cuban Demographics

Cuba has 11,179,99 million people according to 2016 population estimates. The population is distributed as follows; 0-14 years comprise of 16.7% (960,832 males / 905,904 females), 15-24 years comprises of 12.44% (721, 390 males and 669,960 females), 25-54 years makes 12.44% ( 2, 526, 467 males and 2,498, 882 females), 55-64 makes 11.27% (610,190 males and 649,656 females), 65 years and above comprises of 14.64% (751, 621 males and 885, 093 females. Cuba has a dependency ratio of 4.4 out of which the youth make 23.4, an elderly ratio of 20, a population growth rate of -0.3%, birth rate of 10.8 per 1000 population and a death rate of 8.6 per 1000 people. The net migration rate of -5.3 people per 1000 population and urbanization rate of 0.07%. The sex ratio at birth stood at 1.06 for males and females while infant mortality rate stood at 4.5 deaths for every 1000 live births. The capital Havana has a population of 2.17 people as at 2015 estimates. The total fertility rate stood at 1.71 children born per woman in 2016 estimates. HIV / AIDS adult prevalence rate stood at 0.31% where 21,900 people were estimated to be living with AIDS (2015 estimates). Access to sanitation facilities stood at 94.4% in urban areas and 89.1% in rural areas. Access to drinking water was recorded at 94.9%.

Climate of Cuba

Cuba experiences semi-tropical climate wholly except for the mountainous areas. The average lowest temperature is 210 C while the average highest temperature is 27o C. The capital City, Havana, has an average temperature at 25o C. The coastal areas are more habitable due to the influence of the trade winds and the sea breeze. Cuba experiences the rainy season from May to October. The average precipitation along the mountain averages at 1800mm while along the lowlands the degree of wetness ranges from 900mm to 1400mm. The Eastern Coast of Cuban island is often attacked by hurricanes especially in August to October which brings about great economic loss.

Public Health Alert

On 2nd September 2016, Cuba president Raul Castro declared war on Zika virus with a nationwide campaign against the infection and spread. Zika virus is a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes at night. Most people infected show no symptoms and when they occur, they last briefly. Zika virus infection causes congenital Zika syndrome and Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Pregnant women and sexually active couples are more prone to the viral infection. By October 17th, 2017, 52 cases of the infection had been reported to the European Centre for Disease Prevention, and Control 20 of which were reported between August and October. This latest rapid infection in Cuba prompted health alert declared by World Health Organization on the 3rd day of November 2017 as the high-risk country for Zika virus infection and transmission.

Clinical Laboratory Scientists in collaboration with the local health deploy doctors, nurses, and other workers to visit every household looking for mosquitoes and killing them. Each worker is assigned an approximate of 300 houses and is supposed to go to at least 20 every day, check around for mosquitoes spraying the homesteads and their larvae and drain stagnant water. If a mosquito or its larvae is found in a given homestead, an intensive search is done in the neighboring homesteads within 100 meters. If another home is found, then the search is expanded to 300 meters.