ABSTRACT
After several weeks I had recuperated enough to resume some of my research activities, but the illness took a tremendous toll on me physically and emotionally. Whereas before I had felt quite secure in my place in the world, after the hospitalization I did not. The dengue fever epidemic was a powerful lesson in how readily the Cuban government could erase any event (or individual) that might prove politically embarrassing. It was unsettling to realize that my knowledge of this secret epidemic might put me in such a category. Would I be allowed to leave Cuba? Would they take my books, notes and computer away from me? The sudden appearance of Cuban state security personnel at my doorstep did not do much to ease my fears.
