Tufton defends not declaring dengue epidemic sooner

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has rubbished claims that his ministry should have declared a dengue outbreak sooner.

Speaking in the House of Representatives yesterday, Tufton said that the health ministry acted in accordance with the international standard and so a dengue outbreak was not declared because the country remained below the epidemic threshold until December 2018.

"The Government, and more specifically myself and the Ministry of Health, did not claim an outbreak long before when we did, which is the 3rd of January 2019, and I want to make it clear for the record that you can't declare an outbreak until the epidemic threshold is achieved," Tufton said.

He also insisted that his ministry carried out sufficient vector-control activities before the outbreak was declared.

But Opposition Spokesman on Health, Dr Dayton Campbell, contended that no one is questioning the definition of an outbreak, but that a warning of a possible outbreak issued by the Caribbean Public Health Agency warranted a more robust response.