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Re: Malaria hits Boys' Town
Portmore vs malaria...More cases reported in municipality
Residents in some communities of the Sunshine City have taken up the responsibility to keep malaria out of their area by cleaning drains and getting rid of unsightly debris.
One such community is Caymanas Gardens located in the Gregory Park Division. Both young and old put their hands and heart together and came out to clean clogged drains that offer a perfect breeding place for mosquitoes.
However, the Portmore Municipal Council with the assistance of the St Catherine Health Department and NSWMA have been working feverishly to contain the disease. Drain cleaning has been going on in Newland, Cumberland, Waterford and Naggo Head.
The St. Catherine Health Department has been doing vector control work in the Sunshine City, while the fogging has intensified.
mayor update
Portmore Mayor George Lee, in an update to THE PORTMORE STAR said that as of Thursday, December 14, there have being three reported cases of malaria in Portmore. One was confirmed in Four West Greater Portmore, one in West Cumberland and the other in Christian Pen, a community in the Gregory Park Division.
A spokesperson at the Greater Portmore Health Centre said that a woman was tested at the centre and her blood sample taken to the St. Catherine Health Department and returned a positive test. She was subsequently treated and has recovered successfully.
On Tuesday they said 13 persons who showed the signs and symptoms of malaria had their blood taken and sent to a lab at the St. Catherine Health Department to be tested. The spokesperson did not put a figure on the number of persons the health centre has tested so far since the malaria outbreak on December 1.
Over at the Christian Pen Health Centre they reported that they have been routinely checking persons for malaria. "We don't take blood samples from patients unless they have a fever because the signs and symptoms of malaria are similar to a lot of other ailments," a spokesperson there explained. When queried about the number of person tested on a daily basis, the source referred the news team to the St. Catherine Health Department where the tests are being carried out. Interestingly, the only confirmed case of malaria in Christian Pen was not checked at the Christian Pen Health Centre but another health centre in the Corperate Area.
Some residents are alarmed that there is no real urgency to stem the disease, at least not in their area. "My community (of 2 East) is infested by mosquitoes and I don't see any spraying going on. I'm concerned that it (malaria) will break out in my community," a lady with a newborn baby said.
They contend that though a major drain that runs between Two West and Two East (located near the Greater Portmore Basic and Primary Schools) has been cleaned recently, mosquito infestation in that body of water may cause an outbreak of malaria.
Mayor Lee, in addressing that situation, said that since this week the NWT (National Water Commission) has started cleaning a pond that leaks over into 2 West drain, and this development will greatly reduce the incidence of mosquitoes there.
Up to Thursday, the Ministry of Health has reported that 67 persons have contracted the malaria disease but this can rise considerably as it is alleged that hundreds of blood samples of persons who have the signs and symptoms of the disease have not been tested.
The malaria parasite, carried by an infected female anopheles mosquito, has an incubation period of 9-12 days (that is from the time of the mosquito bite to the period when the disease is fully matured), after which an individual will get full-blown malaria.
Malaria can cause death if left untreated. Signs and symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, tiredness, chills and more seriously blood in the stool.
Portmore vs malaria...More cases reported in municipality
Residents in some communities of the Sunshine City have taken up the responsibility to keep malaria out of their area by cleaning drains and getting rid of unsightly debris.
One such community is Caymanas Gardens located in the Gregory Park Division. Both young and old put their hands and heart together and came out to clean clogged drains that offer a perfect breeding place for mosquitoes.
However, the Portmore Municipal Council with the assistance of the St Catherine Health Department and NSWMA have been working feverishly to contain the disease. Drain cleaning has been going on in Newland, Cumberland, Waterford and Naggo Head.
The St. Catherine Health Department has been doing vector control work in the Sunshine City, while the fogging has intensified.
mayor update
Portmore Mayor George Lee, in an update to THE PORTMORE STAR said that as of Thursday, December 14, there have being three reported cases of malaria in Portmore. One was confirmed in Four West Greater Portmore, one in West Cumberland and the other in Christian Pen, a community in the Gregory Park Division.
A spokesperson at the Greater Portmore Health Centre said that a woman was tested at the centre and her blood sample taken to the St. Catherine Health Department and returned a positive test. She was subsequently treated and has recovered successfully.
On Tuesday they said 13 persons who showed the signs and symptoms of malaria had their blood taken and sent to a lab at the St. Catherine Health Department to be tested. The spokesperson did not put a figure on the number of persons the health centre has tested so far since the malaria outbreak on December 1.
Over at the Christian Pen Health Centre they reported that they have been routinely checking persons for malaria. "We don't take blood samples from patients unless they have a fever because the signs and symptoms of malaria are similar to a lot of other ailments," a spokesperson there explained. When queried about the number of person tested on a daily basis, the source referred the news team to the St. Catherine Health Department where the tests are being carried out. Interestingly, the only confirmed case of malaria in Christian Pen was not checked at the Christian Pen Health Centre but another health centre in the Corperate Area.
Some residents are alarmed that there is no real urgency to stem the disease, at least not in their area. "My community (of 2 East) is infested by mosquitoes and I don't see any spraying going on. I'm concerned that it (malaria) will break out in my community," a lady with a newborn baby said.
They contend that though a major drain that runs between Two West and Two East (located near the Greater Portmore Basic and Primary Schools) has been cleaned recently, mosquito infestation in that body of water may cause an outbreak of malaria.
Mayor Lee, in addressing that situation, said that since this week the NWT (National Water Commission) has started cleaning a pond that leaks over into 2 West drain, and this development will greatly reduce the incidence of mosquitoes there.
Up to Thursday, the Ministry of Health has reported that 67 persons have contracted the malaria disease but this can rise considerably as it is alleged that hundreds of blood samples of persons who have the signs and symptoms of the disease have not been tested.
The malaria parasite, carried by an infected female anopheles mosquito, has an incubation period of 9-12 days (that is from the time of the mosquito bite to the period when the disease is fully matured), after which an individual will get full-blown malaria.
Malaria can cause death if left untreated. Signs and symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, tiredness, chills and more seriously blood in the stool.
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