Dengue drive bites into gov't coffers

Nadisha Hunter, Gleaner Writer

A major thrust by the Ministry of Health to prevent a dengue outbreak in the island is putting an enormous strain on the State's coffers, The Gleaner has learnt.

Dr Sheila Campbell-Forrester, Jamaica's chief medical officer, said yesterday that the ministry has spent millions of dollars on fogging, clearing breeding sites and carrying out public-education programmes in approximately 300 communities nationwide.

"It is costing millions of dollars to control the mosquitoes, with insecticide alone costing $1 million," she said.

Campbell revealed that 70 persons have been diagnosed with the disease islandwide since the start of the year, which has set off alarm bells.

There has been a spike in dengue fever cases in a number of Caribbean territories. More than 15,000 cases have been detected in the Americas, with approximately 3,000 being ruled severe and 79 deaths reported.

This prompted the ministry, with the assistance of the Pan-American Health Organisation, to roll out a dengue prevention and control public-education programme to heighten awareness.

The health ministry has also heightened its surveillance systems across the island.

Portmore initiative

Special intervention has been planned for Portmore, where mosquitoes continue to plague residents. Campbell-Forrester said the ministry was looking forward to rolling out a new strategy to rid the sprawling St Catherine quasi-city of the pests.

"We are in the process of coming up with new strategies for Portmore, because the mosquitoes there are a nuisance. There are breeding sites there that need to be dealt with, so it is a little more difficult to control," she said.

But Campbell-Forrester said while the ministry was implementing preventative measures, householders have a major role to play. She called on residents of the Sunshine City to rid their homes and business places of breeding sites.

Dengue fever is caused by a virus transmitted from the Aedes aegypti mosquito to humans. According to the chief medical officer, symptoms include a high fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, a rash and back pain.

Persons who are experiencing such symptoms are advised to visit their health-care provider so that they can be accurately diagnosed.