Jamaica facing dengue fever outbreak risk amid rising cases

Jamaica is facing the risk of a possible outbreak of dengue fever amid rising cases.

According to the Ministry of Health and Wellness, as of Monday, there were 316 suspected, presumed, or confirmed dengue cases across the country.

This is significantly more when compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

Data from the ministry's National Surveillance Unit, show that for the same period last year, the country recorded 65 instances of the mosquito-borne disease, making the figure seen in 2023 an almost fivefold increase.

Speaking at the ministry's quarterly press conference today, Portfolio Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said that based on laboratory results, there have been a total of 39 positive cases so far this year, 38 of which were identified as Dengue Serotype 2 and one case identified as dengue Serotype 4. 

He underscored that while Jamaica has seen continuous local transmission of the dengue virus since 1977, the presence of the Type 2 strain has not predominated in the population since 2010.

It was noted that this has heightened the island's risk of a possible outbreak. 

Regarding positive cases, the health minister raised concerns about the younger population being more susceptible to the virus.

“It is important to highlight that of the 39 confirmed cases of dengue, a total of 20 belong in the 5-to-14-year-old age group...and so part of the call from Ministry of Health is to encourage parents to treat children who have a fever with paracetamol and to avoid aspirin and aspirin-like medication such as ibuprofen and diclofenac,” he said. 

Tufton noted that while all parishes have had reported cases of dengue, the confirmed infections were detected in  Kingston & St Andrew, St Thomas, St Catherine, Westmoreland, Portland and St Ann. 

“When we look from a per population perspective, the parishes in Southeast: St Thomas, Kingston and St Andrew and St Catherine have the highest dengue activity at this time,” Tufton said.  

- Asha Wilks

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