Cuban epidemic

An international medical team of six is going to Cuba to check reports of an epidemic of eye problems, AP reports from Geneva.

Initial reports from Cuba said malnutrition was causing beri-beri, a deficiency of vitamin B1 that can cause blindness. But the Cuban delegation to a World Health Organisation meeting in Geneva said the epidemic had different causes, possibly including a virus, pesticides or other toxins. 'Nobody really knows,' said a US doctor at the meeting.