A rare dermatitis caused by contact with microorganisms found in the sea has prompted fears in Cuba’s habitually quiet city of Cienfuegos. Several people – mostly children – have arrived in hospitals with rashes and skin lesions over the past two weeks. “The doctors didn’t seem to know what it was,” Maria del Carmen, a young mother of three told OnCuba, after visiting (as she has often done) the bathing area that locals call the “Youth Circle.” “My children were diagnosed with intoxication, impetigo and dengue. My little girl was kept in the hospital for four days under a mosquito net, until the rash went away,” Maria recalls. The son of Anay, another woman from Cienfuegos, also presented the same symptoms: sudden reddening and itching in the genital area. Unsatisfied with the response she received at the pediatric hospital, Anay contacted the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology and the Public Health Bureau, where they were unaware of these incidents. Spreading rumors about contaminated beaches and the almost 60 cases seen at the emergency ward forced authorities to look into the matter. On Sunday, July 26, they closed the Youth Circle beach, but bathers have moved to other, nearby areas, all...