More than 9,000 troops have been deployed in Cuba to conduct a national health campaign to eliminate Aedes Aegyptis mosquitoes, the species that spreads the Zika virus, and the dengue and Chikungunya viruses as well. Although no cases have been reported in the country so far, for six days now this force has been walking the main streets of the cities, fumigating house by house. In pairs, the young soldiers walk around armed with handheld fumigation machines. They are teamed up with medical students, who check the people for symptoms of any of the associated diseases. Photo: Diona Espinosa Naranjo It is not a military manoeuvre technically speaking, but rather an operation to support the healthcare system strategy that is trying to keep the disease out of the country. President Raul Castro summoned the people to give their support to these efforts in a public address: “It’s necessary for every single Cuban to understand this fight as a personal matter, as a problem that concerns them all, primarily because it’s their duty to their families.” The high risk of the virus reaching the island nation has put in motion the healthcare campaign, following the state of emergency declared by the...