Florida registered 79 cases of hepatitis A associated with Cuba
The analysis covers diagnoses detected between June 2024 and February 2026; 72% of the linked patients required hospitalization.
A study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) linked 79 cases of hepatitis A identified in Florida between June 2024 and February 2026 to Cuba. In that period, 249 cases were confirmed in the state: 76 corresponded to people who had recently traveled to Cuba and another three were associated with the group through genetic analysis or epidemiological links.
Among the 79 Cuba-related patients, 72% needed hospital care, although no deaths were reported. The median age of those affected was 39 years and their homes were spread over 13 counties. Miami-Dade concentrated 46 cases, equivalent to 58% of the total linked to Cuba; Palm Beach registered eight, Lee six, Broward five and Hillsborough three.
Florida health authorities tested samples from 18 patients from five counties, and 15 had the same variant of the IA genotype. That result is consistent with a common epidemiological origin, but the researchers did not conclude that all infections had been contracted in Cuba. The variant tested had not previously been detected in Florida before February 2025. Of 29 patients who answered additional questions, 16 had been in Havana and 12 said they had consumed water from the sink.
Some of those travelers also drank bottled, boiled or filtered water, so the responses did not identify a specific source of infection. Hepatitis A spreads mainly when contaminated water, food or hands come into contact with the mouth. Its incubation can last between 15 and 50 days, a period that makes it difficult to determine the place of exposure in each case. The CDC recommended getting vaccinated before traveling to Cuba.
In September, Cuba's Deputy Minister of Public Health, Carilda Peña García, acknowledged an increase in hepatitis and diarrheal diseases, which she linked to deteriorating sanitation, water treatment and waste collection. The supply situation in Havana also registered an interruption: on November 4, an emergency shutdown in Cuenca Sur affected six municipalities in the capital. The lack of stable water makes hygiene tasks such as washing hands and cleaning bathrooms or utensils difficult. It also complicates maintaining sanitary conditions in cafeterias, restaurants and food stalls.