(Breaking News) chikungunya virus is widely in Jamaica

[Tropicana]

You questioning Richd reading ability yet the article he posted says manifesting symptoms and you make the assumption them have test results.... Dwl.

Fine didn't see that part....but that doesn't change my point.

No one has shared ANY information indicating thta even 10% of the population of Jamaica is "manifesting symptoms" of Chkungunya.

[Tropicana]

As of 18 hours ago we have this information:

The Ministry of Health has reported 35 confirmed cases and 352 suspected cases of Chikungunya.

That's roughly 1.425% of the Jamaican population. Doesn't sound like an epidemic to me...not even close.

[RichD]

you questioning my reading ability and you read "a medical practitioner" as "the minister of health"

i know i know ..its you down time and you come here to relax you don't have time to read every single word before you comment on an article...


ah sah

[RichD]

As of 18 hours ago we have this information:



That's roughly 1.425% of the Jamaican population. Doesn't sound like an epidemic to me...not even close.

if yuh a go mek number arguments yuh maths want a likkle work too ..yuh need to refresh on how many zeroes in a million?

[Tropicana]

Jamaican population: 2.715 million = 2,715,000 million


35 + 352 = calculator addition.jpg

387/2,715,000 = calculatordivision.jpg

[twiney]

Jamaican population: 2.715 million = 2,715,000 million


35 + 352 = [ATTACH=CONFIG]2790[/ATTACH]

387/2,715,000 = [ATTACH=CONFIG]2791[/ATTACH]

Psst express that as percentage now.

[Tropicana]

Verification

spreadsheet.jpg


Calculator malfunction is not helping the sky is falling crew and makes my point even more strongly.


0.01325% of the population is CLEARLY not an epidemic or a widespread virus.

[Wahalla]

On that 35 cases the ministry of health stop sending samples to Trinidad to be tested.....this was at a time there was over a 210 cases were diagnosed by doctors.....

[Wahalla]

now andrew piss me off... This should come from his Health spokes man....if it was Ebola there would have been little the health minister could have done... But he did push his head in the sand and utter complete nonsense about 34 cases....

Holness says public has lost confidence in health minister

Wednesday, October 01, 2014 | 2:52 PM 3 Comments

Tweet

Leader of the Opposition Andrew Holness
KINGSTON, Jamaican — Leader of the Opposition Andrew Holness has said that Jamaicans have lost confidence in Minister of Health Dr Fenton Ferguson and is calling on Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller to act now in the interest of the public.
“We have no confidence in the current minister of health to manage his portfolio. Based on the potential threat of other more virulent diseases [than chikungunya] such as Ebola, the minister should be replaced and a serious and objective assessment of the state of readiness of the public health services be immediately undertaken to assure the public that Jamaica will be prepared and resourced to deal with this and other public health threats,” Holness said in a news release Wednesday.
Holness argued that communication to the public has been “slow and ineffective”.
“We call on the prime minister to do her job and act to ensure that the health service and the public health system are in good hands as there are other more serious health threats on the horizon,” the Opposition leader said.

[RichD]

Jamaican population: 2.715 million = 2,715,000 million


35 + 352 = [ATTACH=CONFIG]2790[/ATTACH]

387/2,715,000 = [ATTACH=CONFIG]2791[/ATTACH]

ah sah

when yuh pop style .....

[RichD]

more chicken little business:

all dog a get Chick-V

Vet Warns Against Giving Dogs Panadol

Published: Thursday | October 2, 20140 Comments



Basil Brown of Seaview Gardens with his dog, Ruff, who he said was infected with the chik-V and was treated with bissy tea and Panadol. Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer




Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer
VETERINARIAN DR Paul Cadogan has advised against giving Panadol or any medication containing acetaminophen to domestic animals such as cats or dogs, citing the potential for severe liver damage.
"It is bad to give dogs Panadol or anything containing acetaminophen, worse cats. It causes liver damage. One dose can be fatal for a cat. While dogs may survive a single dose with damage, repeated dosing can lead to liver failure and death," Cadogan pointed out in an email on Tuesday.
He was responding to a story published in The Gleaner where a family in Seaview Gardens, St Andrew claims it had successfully treated their dog with over-the-counter medication and bissy tea after it contracted chikungunya. But the veterinarian has shot down both claims on medical grounds.
"A dog is not going to get chikungunya. So whatever was affecting that animal is something else, and there is the danger, too, with people giving their dogs Panadol or anything with acetaminophen (that) is not a good idea," he insisted.
The Seaview resident had argued that the dog - Ruff - the first member of the family to exhibit symptoms similar to humans afflicted with chikungunya had responded well to the treatment administered to people in the area.
"The dog couldn't walk, the only thing that dog could do is lay down and say 'arr, arr' and mammy boil some bissy and also give the dog Panadol, and after that the dog coulda get up and walk. Seriously!"
Cadogan offered this likely explanation: "So the bissy with its caffeine and theobromine (which is also found in chocolate - toxic to dogs in large amounts, too) 'stimulated' the dog to get up and move, but it's now missing a bunch of liver cells."
The veterinarian explained that the incidence of liver failure in dogs is very high in Jamaica and is likely caused by the misguided actions of owners with good intentions.
"They think the dog is in pain and want to give him something for pain, so they pop him a Panadol, not really knowing that that will cause him some damage. The fortunate thing for dogs is that a one-off dose is not really going to put them out of commission, but it does start some damage. One dose you give to a cat and that animal is likely going to die somewhere in the next couple of weeks, from acute liver failure," he toldThe Gleaner.
Cadogan also had a word of caution for pet owners who abuse some over-the-counter medication. "Acetaminophen is dangerous for us too as people if you overdose. That's why they tell you do not exceed the recommended dose because the dose that we take is harmless to us, but if you increase it, if you take more tablets than you should, it can cause liver damage as well."
[email protected]

[SKYJUICE221]

Ebola is now in the United states as hospital nation wide brace for the worst to come. Ebola is a deadly virus than chikungunya virus. Be careful guys.

[RichD]

NEWS
Cibolo man contracts Chikungunya virus


Donnovan Jackson was bitten by infected mosquito in Jamaica


POSTED SEPTEMBER 30, 2014, 6:54 PM
UPDATED SEPTEMBER 30, 2014, 7:44 PM

12




Ursula Pari
By Ursula Pari
Anchor
SAN ANTONIO - Retired U.S. Army Sgt. Donnovan Jackson spent eight years instructing soldiers in health matters all over the world, but his personal trip to Jamaica a month ago gave him a personal lesson in infectious viruses when he contracted chikungunya from an infected mosquito.


"I was being eaten alive," said Jackson, who has a Ph.D. in public health. "Mosquitoes were everywhere and I didn't take the time to spray down."


Jackson was in Jamaica for a funeral. He visited with family, including a relative who was suffering from the effects of chikungunya, when he was exposed to the virus. He said there were signs and pamphlets on the virus everywhere in Jamaica, but he did not heed the warnings.


"I was not being smart. I should know better after 20 years in the Army teaching soldiers deployments," Jackson laughed while retelling his ordeal.


Two days after returning to the U.S., he was admitted to San Antonio Military Medical Center with severe flu symptoms.


"From the time I went to SAMMC, it seemed as though a new event was occurring every 15 minutes," he said. "The spiking of the temperature, the muscle spasms, then the joint pains, then a tingling sensation. [It was] very aggressive."


The virus lasted 10 days. Jackson said early on he made the mistake of taking ibuprofen, which is strictly prohibited because it can cause internal bleeding. Since chikungunya is a virus, it just needed to run its course.


Jackson is now back at work as a real estate agent in Cibolo and says other than losing five pounds, he's fine.


As for the lesson learned, Jackson advises anyone traveling to the Caribbean to be sure to wear insect spray or lotion continuously, especially in the rainy season.


The good news is that once you've gotten chikungunya, you are immunized against getting it again.


According to the state's epidemiology newsletter, Bexar County has recorded only one case of the virus and 10 across Texas. Only two cases of "locally acquired" chikungunya cases exist in the U.S. and both are in Florida.

[RichD]

NEWS
Case of chikungunya virus confirmed in Dallas


POSTED AUGUST 27, 2014, 3:14 PM
UPDATED AUGUST 27, 2014, 3:19 PM



Chikungunya-Mosquitoes
By Alex Navarro
Associate Producer
DALLAS - Public health officials have confirmed the first human case of the chikungunya virus in Dallas.


Dallas County Health and Human Services on Wednesday confirmed the first case in the city. The person was infected with the virus during a recent trip to the Dominican Republic. The Dallas resident was diagnosed after returning to North Texas.


It's at least the 14th Texas case of the illness, which is considered rarely fatal but marked by joint pain, fever, muscle aches and rash. Recovery typically takes about a week.


Mosquitoes that carry the virus are found in Texas, but only Florida so far has reported a spread of the virus.


It cannot be spread from person to person.

[RichD]

Interesting, plenty more a jump on the chicken little bandwagon...

minister a worry bout productivity when is only 0.01325% of the population...what a ting

JAMAICA-HEALTH-Jamaica reeling under Chikungunya virus

September 29, 2014 CMC Regional No comments

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Sept 29, CMC – The Jamaica government has acknowledged that the outbreak of the mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus is taking a toll on the country’s education system with reports of a significant increase in student and teacher absenteeism.
While unable to give exact figures, Education Minister Ronald Thwaites, said schools in the Corporate Area and eastern parishes were the most affected.
“There have been significant absences from schools. We encourage schools to give as much information to students on how they should react to symptoms. And that schools should join in national cleanup efforts to ensure that breeding spaces for mosquitoes are all curtailed,” Thwaites said.
He said individual schools will have to put measures in place to prevent any major fallout in the administering of classes due to the outbreak.
Health Minister Dr. Fenton Ferguson in a nationwide radio and television address on Sunday night called for a national response to efforts to tackle the outbreak the virus spread by the aedes aegypti mosquito and with the telltale signs of the illness, including joint pain so severe it can be hard to walk. .
He said whole scale support is needed as the authorities fine-tune strategies to destroy mosquito breeding sites.
“I urge you to take at least 10 minutes each week and look around your home , workplace, to ensure that there is no uncovered containers that can breed mosquitoes. I implore every citizen to join us when we declare a national cleanup day.
The health minister also expressed concern about the impact the disease is having on productivity.
“We ask employers to be compassionate and assist their staff through this difficult period. We expect that the health workforce will also be impacted and so we are putting in place an emergency response plan to ensure that we can continue to provide care to the population.
Ferguson added that Chikungunya cases are expected to spike .
“It is important to note that the expectation is for chikungunya cases to spike and then trend down as persons begin to build immunity to this new disease.”
He said the spread of the virus was expected and that it was “normal” for new diseases.
This was the Health Minister’s first address to the nation since the virus hit Jamaica. The address was comes amid criticism of the Government’s handling of the outbreak.
The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) spokesman on Health, Dr Kenneth Baugh, said he welcomes the admission by the government that there is a Chikungunya epidemic.
But Dr Baugh noted that while the Minister has finally confronted the seriousness of the issue, he did not address several things.
“It was unfortunate that his presentation ignored the fact that a lot of pharmacies are out of stock of the basic medications needed to address symptoms. He needs to make urgent provisions for this. Related to this point is the fact that the Minister also did not address the matter of budgetary provisions,” Dr. Baugh said urging the Dr. Ferguson to promptly announce details regarding the emergency command centre, including the location, telephone number and the skill sets that will be mobilized there.

The Trinidadian-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has said the Chikunguyna virus has reached epidemic proportions in the Caribbean and that many more cases will be recorded in the coming months.