Tufton rejects claims of six-week wait for dengue results
Published:Tuesday | December 17, 2019 | 12:10 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton and Dr Delroy Fray, clinical coordinator at the Montego Bay-based Cornwall Regional Hospital (CHR), are at odds about the turnaround time for blood samples taken from suspected dengue patients to be tested.
Rubbishing Fray’s claim that it takes roughly six weeks to get a reliable dengue diagnosis, the health minister said test results could be obtained in a matter of days.
“It’s not true to say the blood test takes six weeks because when we send test samples to the Caribbean Public Health Agency in Trinidad, we have a five-day turnaround. Also, we’re now doing tests at the National Public Health Lab, so it’s not supposed to take that long, as they have the equipment and the personnel,” Tufton told The Gleaner following a town hall meeting in Negril, Westmoreland, last Thursday, hours after Fray told a press conference on CHR restoration works in Montego Bay of the lengthy delay.
Approximately 6,000 suspected or confirmed cases of dengue have been reported in Jamaica to this year, with at least 46 deaths attributed to the mosquito-borne virus.
Tufton called for persons to place less emphasis on blood tests to diagnose dengue and more on starting treatment as early as possible when the illness is suspected.
“We should not wait on the test [results] to administer treatment, so it is not as important as it is made out to be in the public domain. It’s really about how you deal with a particular case, and how quickly the case presents itself,” said Tufton.
“The blood test for dengue is unfortunately projected as essential to the response to dengue symptoms. While it is important, it’s really more important for the doctor to determine whether the test is required or whether a course of treatment should be applied without the test,” the health minister added.
Responding to queries last Thursday about Cornwall Regional Hospital’s ability to treat dengue cases during the ongoing restoration work, Fray said that because many persons were also showing up with flu-like symptoms, it is hard to know who is suffering from dengue.
“To reliably diagnose dengue takes time and reliable diagnosis will take about six weeks. A lot of patients will present what appears to be flu-like illness, but we’re in the flu season, so it’s hard to tell the number of patients that are really dengue-afflicted,” Fray had told The Gleaner.