Cuba registered 124 new leprosy diagnoses during 2025

Cuba registered 124 new diagnoses of leprosy in 2025, while the disease continues to be present in the country. The World Health Organization (WHO) points out that the bacteria responsible continues to circulate on the island. Raisa Rumbaut Castillo, head of the National Leprosy Program of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), said that cases are detected every year and asked the population to pay attention. The count corresponds to new diagnoses during the year, not to the total number of people living with the disease.

Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo had 62 diagnoses, exactly half of the national total. Santiago accounted for 40 cases, with a rate of 4.2 per 100,000 inhabitants; Guantánamo added 22 and reached a rate of 4.8 per 100,000. The Cuban average was 1.3 per 100,000 inhabitants. By number of patients, Santiago registered more cases; when comparing the rates, Guantánamo had the highest value of the two. Both provincial rates exceeded the national average.

The behavior of the two provinces changed from the previous year. Santiago went from 32 diagnoses to 40, eight more. Guantánamo rose from seven to 22, an increase of 15 and more than triple the previous count. The proportional increase was more marked in Guantánamo, while Santiago maintained the highest absolute total between the two territories. Together, both eastern provinces contributed half of the new diagnoses counted in the country during 2025.

In the country as a whole, 113 of the 124 patients — 91% — were classified with the multibacillary form, characterized by a higher concentration of bacteria. The WHO includes in this category patients with more than five skin lesions. Among the diagnoses of the year there were also five minors. Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, is infectious. Rumbaut Castillo pointed out that cases are detected every year in Cuba and asked the population to pay attention to the disease.