(Breaking News) chikungunya virus is widely in Jamaica

[evanovitch]

furgueson got it wrong... He polticised it... He should have gotten the Cheif Medical office to give details and advise ..

instead he went and run up his mouth.. and opened that gate.....

and the opposition leaders are doing their job.. opposing...questioning... testing....that is exactly what they should do... are we expected to accept his procolantions without questioning it ????

Is Furgeson saying that what he does is the only way ?....

He also used the term doctor in front his name... like DK ducan did... he is a dentist...

using a biological agent to control mosquito will have consequences as detailed in the BBC article ... there are future down sides to that method... stuff we cannot predict... the thing about moqiutos they have a 5 day life cycle..so in theory they have 80 + generations in a year... this means is what evolution is about... and y there is no effective cure for maleria....

dat is wat i seh too….even the current PM was wont to reiterate how much she was gwine to be on the then govt as her role was to oppose…..we have politicians in Ja whose whole career push seem to be the game of changing chairs….fi real

[evanovitch]

Up to 60% of Jamaican population could eventually be affected by Chikungunya - health

Up to 60% of Jamaican population could eventually be affected by Chikungunya - health official

Dr. Kevin Harvey, speaking on All Angles on September 24




It is being forecast that 30% to 60% of the Jamaican population could eventually be affected by the Chikungunya virus.

However Dr Kevin Harvey, acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, says the majority of cases will be mild and the virus has a fatality rate of less than one per cent.

Dr. Harvey, speaking on TVJ's All Angles on Wednesday night, said the Ministry does not know the actual number of persons with Chick V, as it can only report numbers received by its representatives.

"Every body; every single individual, is susceptible to Chikungunya, and the mosquito that carries (it) is everywhere, so we are expecting that the parishes that are not yet impacted will be impacted," he said.

He said the only mitigating step that the health authorities can realistically take "is to try our best to make it as slow as possible, to make it incremental and not an explosive situation that is going to take out a significant number of the population at a particular time."

[Wahalla]

Up to 60% of Jamaican population could eventually be affected by Chikungunya - health official

Dr. Kevin Harvey, speaking on All Angles on September 24




It is being forecast that 30% to 60% of the Jamaican population could eventually be affected by the Chikungunya virus.

However Dr Kevin Harvey, acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, says the majority of cases will be mild and the virus has a fatality rate of less than one per cent.

Dr. Harvey, speaking on TVJ's All Angles on Wednesday night, said the Ministry does not know the actual number of persons with Chick V, as it can only report numbers received by its representatives.

"Every body; every single individual, is susceptible to Chikungunya, and the mosquito that carries (it) is everywhere, so we are expecting that the parishes that are not yet impacted will be impacted," he said.

He said the only mitigating step that the health authorities can realistically take "is to try our best to make it as slow as possible, to make it incremental and not an explosive situation that is going to take out a significant number of the population at a particular time."

This will affect the tourism product....and I concur with this opinion....though there is something that this doctor needs to explain....given that dengue is carried by the same mosquito how come not every one is affected....?

Also this is what the situation was in rural Jamaica in terms of maleria when my father was ah youth.....

[evanovitch]

Judge Calls For Fumigation Of Supreme Court Building, Fears Chikungunya Spread

A high court judge today requested that the Supreme Court building in downtown Kingston, be given urgent attention over fears the chikungunya virus could seriously cripple the court's operations.

Justice Gloria Smith says alot of mosquitoes are on the Supreme Court building.

The judge says she has requested that the building be fumigated.

The virus is spread by the mainly day-biting Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Earlier today, one of the four criminal courts at the Home Circuit Court, adjourned following reports that two of the jurors in a murder matter are experiencing chikungunya-like symptoms.

The case, which has been ongoing in the affected courtroom for the past week, was put off until Monday.

Meanwhile, a number of cases had to be adjourned in the Gun Court this week.

The Gleaner/Power 106 News Centre understands that witnesses, including police officers could not attend court this week because of chikungunya-like symptoms.

In several of the cases, the accused were reportedly present but the cases had to be adjourned because of the absence of witnesses.

It is also understood that court staff are also being affected by the mosquito-spread virus.

Prosecutors and lawyers told our news centre today that they fear the virus is going to add to the already large backlog of cases in the courts.

The Home Circuit Court, where the Gun Court sits, has more than 500 cases in backlog.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/latest/article.php?id=55629

[SKYJUICE221]

Dem dung dey run off dem mout and mi people dem in a pain. Dem nuh resolve this by next month. Mi go dung dey go fix it fi dem, and mi buy about 40 barrel of pesticides fi ship dung dey. Uno watch and see. Tink a joke. Mi ago kill mosquitoes from left to right.

[Wahalla]

Dem dung dey run off dem mout and mi people dem in a pain. Dem nuh resolve this by next month. Mi go dung dey go fix it fi dem, and mi buy about 40 barrel of pesticides fi ship dung dey. Uno watch and see. Tink a joke. Mi ago kill mosquitoes from left to right.

Again this reaction is dangerous....pesticides r retained in the environment post application. And a lot of this effective pesticides are banned...the most effective pesticide is DDT.. The long term impact..

[Wahalla]

Dem dung dey run off dem mout and mi people dem in a pain. Dem nuh resolve this by next month. Mi go dung dey go fix it fi dem, and mi buy about 40 barrel of pesticides fi ship dung dey. Uno watch and see. Tink a joke. Mi ago kill mosquitoes from left to right.

Again this reaction is dangerous....pesticides r retained in the environment post application. And a lot of this effective pesticides are banned...the most effective pesticide is DDT.. The long term impact..

[Wahalla]

rather than admit the truth the ministry of health decides no to let the public know how bad it actually is.. like the comment made by the kanadian it is all anecdotal...it is not a crisis till the minister of healt tells us so... it is all ancedotal and dismissed by the self important

I put no weight on personal experience for determining national statistics. When the Ministry of Healthy issues statistics that show an epidemic, then and only then will I believe it.

there are times that Jamaicans are not fooled ... this is one case... the oppostion and the media did their function....So since the moh wont tell us then there is not an issue....


Chik-V 'Numbers Game' Over

Published: Friday | September 26, 20140 Comments



Ferguson says ministry changing approach to combat virus




With widespread concerns that the Ministry of Health is grossly under-reporting the impact of the chikungunya virus (chik-V) on Jamaica, Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson has said that a decision had been made to discontinue the announcement of confirmed cases.
The latest data from the health ministry was that Jamaica now had 35 confirmed cases of chikungunya, which is spread by the day-biting Aedes aegypti mosquito. The minister is also reporting that persons are now displaying symptoms of both dengue fever and chikunguyna simultaneously.
Ferguson said the focus has now been shifted from "this numbers game" to looking at a joint ministerial approach. This decision led to a meetingyesterday with officials from several government ministries and agencies, including tourism; transport and works; and the National Water Commission.
Ferguson said the ministry is now concentrating on building consensus around killing the breeding sites, thereby combating the twin threats of dengue and chikungunya.
This decision comes on the heels of the acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr Kevin Harvey, projecting that between 30 and 60 per cent of the population could eventually be infected with the chikungunya virus. This translates to between 800,000 and 1.6 million Jamaicans.
"Every single individual is susceptible to chikungunya, and the mosquito that carries it is everywhere, so we are expecting that the parishes that are not yet impacted will be impacted," Harvey said.
LOW FATALITY RATE
However, he said the majority of the cases would be mild, adding that chik-V has a fatality rate of less than one per cent.
Harvey said at this stage, health authorities could only try to make the spread as slow as possible, to make it incremental, and not an explosive situation that it is going to take out a significant number of the population at one time.
In the meantime, supermarkets and pharmacies across the island have been reporting a shortage of various painkillers and mosquito repellants due to the chik-V scare.
However, the health ministry is assuring that there is no shortage, and is advising persons that there are various medications on the market containing acetaminophen or paracetamol that can be used to help relieve the pain. However, they must avoid anything with aspirin.
Reports are on the increase that hundreds of students, teachers and workers from across the island have been calling in sick due to chikungunya-like symptoms.
Yesterday, there was the forced adjournment of one of four criminal courts at the Home Circuit Court, following reports that two of the jurors in a murder case were experiencing chikungunya-like symptoms.
High Court judge Justice Gloria Smith requested that the Supreme Court building in downtown Kingston be urgently fumigated over fears that chikungunya could seriously cripple the court's operations, adding to the already large backlog of cases.
David Wan, president of the Jamaica Employers' Federation, said the organisation is now doing an assessment among its members to determine the impact. However, he said he did not expect the impact to be significant, as persons were being off for days not weeks.
[email protected]

[Wahalla]

on point editorial..


EDITORIAL - Gov't Can't Afford To Sleep On Chik-V

Published: Friday | September 26, 20140 Comments




Dr Fenton Ferguson, the minister of health, is no political juvenile, having won the St Thomas Eastern constituency for the past five elections dating back to 1993. And that is why this newspaper was disappointed with how Dr Ferguson allowed himself to be baited into becoming a clownish figure, armed with a swatter, flailing away at political rivals instead of collaring the chikungunya epidemic.
Dr Ferguson has been busy trying to extinguish fires of frenzy and concern about the chikungunya virus, emphasising that there have been only a few dozen confirmed cases - 35 at last count. And he has been marching up and down like a wound-up toy drummer booming the same dissonant message.
Of course, we don't doubt the veracity of science and its conclusions from samples. But Dr Ferguson well knows that the majority of patients will not pay upwards of $7,000 just to confirm the presence of chik-V. Anecdotal reports suggest there may be tens of thousands of suspected cases of persons with chik-V, dengue or other extreme flu-like symptoms, a matter which we believe should trigger a more muscular response from the Government than the tepid public-relations web-weaving in which Dr Ferguson has been engaged.
Dr Kevin Harvey, who has been acting as permanent secretary since the recent retirement of Jean Dixon, has presented a clearer and more direct prognosis of the danger that looms. According to Dr Harvey, the chikungunya virus could "incrementally pass through 30-60 per cent of the population", which means, baldly, that more than 1.6 million Jamaicans may be afflicted with symptoms. That's serious!
Of course, we are aware that less than one per cent of persons hit by the virus will likely die, but the creaking bones, roasting temperatures, and pounding headaches have a knock-on effect that has caused significant displacement to commerce and daily life.
The Jamaica Manufacturers' Association has already indicated that a survey revealed that 20,000 man-hours have been lost, which we believe is a mere snapshot of a wider portrait of absenteeism and lethargy which will worsen Jamaica's legendary low productivity. Schools in downtown and eastern Kingston - and farther east in St Thomas - have reported hundreds of mass absences that have also affected administrative, teaching and auxiliary staff.
What this newspaper finds bewildering is why the minister of health has been more obsessed with peddling case counts and patient dockets than mitigating the outbreak.
Government fightback
As news emerged yesterday afternoon about a serious local- and central-government fightback, we are heartened that Dr Ferguson has been finally awakened from his mosquito bite-induced slumber. Focus must be placed on ramping up the fogging of the most affected communities; giving a kick to the behind of the narcoleptic National Solid Waste Management Authority to remove garbage rotting for weeks; ensuring that hospitals and neighbourhood clinics are stocked with paracetamol; and increasing public awareness on the ground.
This effort will take money, considering the country's fiscal constraints, but the opportunity cost of doing nothing but bumbling about numbers - which seems to be Dr Ferguson's speciality of training - is a price Jamaica cannot pay.
Perhaps the prime minister, Portia Simpson Miller, might be tempted to appoint someone attuned to the starkness of the impact of chik-V on the economy and national life, in general, to lead a task force to curb the spread. After all, the mosquitoes have been biting 'hot'. We've got to bite back!

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: [email protected] or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.

[CeaBee]

Chikungunya havoc in Jamaica

On the last weekend of August, while walking a district outside Morant Bay, I was struck by the sheer number of persons, including little children, on one single road bed-ridden by severe joint pain, fever, headaches, rash, and other symptoms synonymous with chikungunya. Residents insisted that they were diagnosed as having chikungunya after visiting the doctor. They were instructed to take Panadol, drink plenty of fluids and rest.


I was sceptical, as I, like most Jamaicans, gobbled up Ministry of Health data then claiming 21 confirmed chikungunya cases. There was no way, then, that no fewer than a dozen residents on one roadway in one district could have the virus. After a week of checks with doctors, nurses, other districts in the parish, persons from other parishes, and so on, it dawned on me that some sort of outbreak was in full motion and that the figures being put out by the ministry were terribly misleading. Worst of all, the continued insistence by the ministry of its low-confirmed case count lulled people into a false sense of security, thereby exacerbating its rapid spread.



After visiting the same district a week later, no fewer than 30 persons were reported to have had symptoms of chikungunya. I inquired as to whether any fogging, drain cleaning and public-education programmes were in motion. The answer from all was a resounding no.


I had no choice but to make the information public, as by then, people all over St.Thomas were falling ill and government action was absent. Sadly, many citizens opted to suffer quietly, only occasionally arguing.


POOR RESPONSE
The initial reaction of the health minister, who happens to be the member of parliament for St Thomas Eastern, ground zero for this chikungunya outbreak, was to lash the Opposition and arrogantly claim that confirmed cases stood at 24. They refused to point out that the many persons crowding public health facilities and private doctors' offices were not being tested, clearly then keeping official numbers artificially low.


The ministry, probably unaware of the dynamic media environment that now incorporates social media, within a few days, lost credibility, as thousands more persons across several parishes reported falling ill.


The Ministry of Education belatedly revealed that 697 students and 60 teachers across 25 schools in St Thomas alone were absent because of "flu-like symptoms". At one St Thomas school, the principal and two vice-principals were all sick. The Government, despite the writing on the wall, continues to hide behind medical technicalities and protocols, while hundreds more suffer every day, and its response to date, certainly in St Thomas, is still barely noticeable.
With the chikungunya symptoms outbreak now completely out of control in St Thomas, the Kingston Metropolitan Area and St Catherine, and spreading into St Ann, St Mary and Portland, the Ministry of Health is clearly in a crisis of leadership.


With the entire public health system creaking from poor leadership, mismanagement and incompetence, as reflected at many public hospitals and clinics, many times, out of the most basic medical supplies, it should come as no surprise that the Government has made a complete mess of chikungunya. I refuse to even think what would have happened to us had we been hit by an Ebola outbreak.
SERIOUS ISSUES
A number of serious issues have arisen from this unfortunate development. For one, the Government has wasted time. For months, the Opposition has called on the relevant authorities to get on top of the garbage-collection dilemma. No serious action to date. And, probably worst of all, is that continued denials and obfuscation of the facts only put people at greater risk.


National Clean-up Day and increased awareness among the citizenry aside, the Government must now lead a multi-stakeholder response to urgently stem the rapid rate of increase in the number of persons with chikungunya symptoms.
Beyond that, the ministries of health, local government and education, in conjunction with civic groups, must now work hand in hand in bringing the crisis under some reasonable level of control. Unfortunately, given the now-heightened media attention, many affected are now opting out of seeing a doctor and resort to taking the standard chikungunya-symptoms treatment.
This is not only risky, but further understates the impact of chikungunya.


In the end, while personal responsibility is important, the Government must do its job and put a halt to the defensive time-wasting that has only made matters worse.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20140921/focus/focus3.html

[Wahalla]

it is still not an epidemic as the MOH has declared it as such.... according to our kanadian expert... Deacon Thwaitess is either a liar or ancedotal!!!

Chick V keeps children at home in eastern parishes

5:59 am, Mon September 29, 2014








The outbreak of the Chikungunya Virus is taking a toll on the country's education system with reports of a significant increase in student absenteeism. Teacher attendance is also being impacted.
While not able to give figures, Education Minister Ronald Thwaites, said several schools have reported a high number of students and teachers absent. Schools in the Corporate Area and eastern parishes are the most affected. He encouraged the teachers to inform the students on how to address the symptoms and be prepared to participate in any national clean up action.
In the meantime, individual schools will have to put measures in place to prevent any major fallout in the administering of classes due to the Chick V outbreak.

[Tropicana]

Let's see the alarmist headline that opened this discussion was posted over a week ago. This is an update from the Ministry of Health.

Jamaica's health minister said Sunday that the government is doing all it can to combat a newly arrived mosquito-borne virus that is increasingly disrupting life and cutting productivity on the Caribbean island.

In a national address carried on television and radio, Fenton Ferguson said the chikungunya virus is spreading across Jamaica and "everyone is susceptible."
"We are aware of the impact this is having on productivity and attendance at school and work and ask employers to be compassionate and assist their staff through this difficult period," Ferguson said.
It's a rarely fatal but typically very painful viral illness that has advanced rapidly through the Caribbean and parts of Latin America after local transmission started in the tiny French dependency of St. Martin late last year, likely introduced by an infected air traveler. Apparently hardest hit has been the Dominican Republic, with half the cases reported in the Americas.
In recent days, the mosquito-borne virus with no cure or vaccine has been increasingly sickening people in Jamaica, perhaps most severely in the southeastern parish of St. Thomas.
"Schools, business, churches, farms and entire communities in St. Thomas continue to report ever mounting cases of persons ill with chikungunya, some communities with over half the population affected," said opposition official Delano Seiveright before the health minister's speech.
Confirmed cases in Jamaica are few so far, but there are many signs that the real number of sickened people is far higher than the official tally. Laboratories have only been able to confirm a small portion of people who fall ill because many patients don't bother seeking care so their cases go unrecorded. Some private doctors are also not reporting patients to the government, according to the health ministry.
Some Jamaicans are blasting the government for what they believe is a sluggish response to a public health threat they knew was on the way. Fenton asserts the government was prepared and is doing all it can to swat down the virus but the "expectation is for chikungunya cases to spike and then trend down" as more people become immune. People develop immunity after getting infected.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mosquito-borne-virus-disrupting-life-jamaica-25827289

It still seems to be the opposition pushing this story.

[Tropicana]

Interesting there is regular fogging at the luxury resorts to keep the mosquito population under control. Fogging kills only the adults though. Time to step up efforts to control the mosquito population in the residential areas.

[Tropicana]

He speaks really clearly except for:

"I therefore want to 'ighlight"......

"....we are not 'arbouring mosquitos in our 'omes"

"punch 'oles in tin cans"

He has a very reassuring manner.

AMID GROWING anxiety over the outbreak of the chikungunya virus (Chik-V) in Jamaica, Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson delivered a sobering reminder last night that the number of cases is expected to spike before they start trending down.

However, Ferguson used a nationwide broadcast last night to give the assurance that the nation's already stretched public health-care system will be ready to handle the increase.
"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," he revealed.
"While I understand the concern and anxiety of Jamaicans over this new illness, I am worried that important messages [about Chik-V] are being lost in the sea of misinformation that has been circulating," Ferguson said.
He acknowledged that the Government must, and has been, leading the efforts to reduce the spread of the disease but insisted that in the end, the fight to contain it has to become the personal responsibility of every citizen.

"I urge you to take at least 10 minutes each week and look around your home, your school, your workplace, your church, and ensure that there is no uncovered container with water that could breed mosquitoes," he emphasised.

"Let us take charge of our health," he continued.

grossly underreported

Ferguson and the Portia Simpson Miller administration have been facing mounting criticism for their handling of the Chik-V outbreak. Many persons, including members of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party, have charged that the Government's response was slow and that the 35 confirmed cases were grossly underreported.
The health minister acknowledged that based on information collected from several communities and private physicians, there are "a number of cases" involving persons with Chik-V symptoms - fever, joint pain, and rashes - "in excess of what has been officially reported and which would not form part of the official numbers".

"We continue to investigate as we have an interest in determining all the types of viruses that are presently circulating," he said.
Ferguson, however, defended the Government's handling of the outbreak, pointing out that since June, vector-control activities have been conducted in 977 communities; just over 50,000 premises have been inspected for such sites; that activities to identify and destroy mosquito-breeding sites were conducted in 484 communities.
In addition, he said the Government is aware of the impact the Chik-V outbreak is having on productivity and school attendance and implored employers to be compassionate and assist their employees through the illness.

The health minister again signalled that a national clean-up day is coming and urged every Jamaican to join in when the date is announced.

Perhaps some of the prisoners can be put to work during the national clean-up day.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20140929/lead/lead11.html

[CeaBee]

me just see the dance dwl