Jamaica confirms 870 dengue cases

Jamaica is reporting 870 confirmed cases of the dengue virus up to November 8, according to an update Thursday from Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton. 

That figure is part of the 3,147 suspected, presumed and confirmed cases in total. 

The dengue serotype two strain was found in 863 of the confirmed cases. 

“This is in keeping with the fact that type two dengue, we have not seen it being prevalent for just over ten years and so you will find that persons in that age group have not previously been exposed to dengue type two and so there is a high likelihood that they would be infected,” explained Chief Medical Officer, Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie.

Additionally, Tufton said nine dengue-related deaths have been recorded. Seven have been classified as suspected and two as confirmed. 

The 5-14 age group is the most affected, with the highest number of suspected presumed and confirmed cases at a rate of 360.3 cases per 100,000 of the population. 

The Ministry of Health and Wellness declared a dengue outbreak on September 23 when the National Surveillance Unit advised that Jamaica had surpassed the dengue epidemic threshold for several months. 

All parishes continue to observe an increase in dengue cases in 2023 compared to 2022, with Kingston and St Andrew reporting the highest number of cases (776) for 2023.

However, St Thomas maintains the highest case rate of 382.5 per 100,000 of the population, followed by Portland (221 per 100,000) and Trelawny (160 per 100,000).

Tufton, in the meantime, says the ministry continues to take steps to mitigate the impact of dengue on the population, which includes fogging, waste removal and drain cleaning. 

“The ministry, you may recall or [have] seen, has begun distribution of drum covers in areas that had water storage. More than 500 have been distributed. Fogging sessions continue across the island, both morning and evenings with a total of 461 communities fogged to date. An additional 115 high risk communities have received fogging," he said. 

He also said the ministry has partnered with the National Solid Waste Management Authority to remove bulky waste in six parishes.

Tufton also disclosed that approximately 700 vector control workers have been employed across the island. 

“The areas have been determined based on where the index is highest and where therefore the risk because of the breeding sites for the aedes aegypti  mosquito are greatest,” he said. 

-Sashana Small 

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