Jamaica Chikungunya virus

[blugiant]

Jamaica urged to brace for full impact of Chikungunya virus - Lead Stories - Jamaica Gleaner - Thursday

FG_AUTHORS: Syn Dawkins

Edmond Campbell, Staff Reporter

A strong warning is coming from the head of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), based in Trinidad and Tobago, to the rest of the region, including Jamaica, to brace for the "full impact" of the Chikungunya virus even as concerns mount locally about the spread of the mosquito-borne disease.

As the number of cases in Jamaica climbs steadily, medical practitioner and former president of the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association Dr Shane Alexis said Jamaica should take the warning from CARPHA seriously.

In a Gleaner interview, Dr Alexis suggested that efforts to prevent the rapid spread of Chikungunya should include widespread community involvement. "I certainly would encourage schools, churches and other community groups to do Labour Day-type activities, such as bushing and clearing areas, especially where a lot of people meet at any one time."

He stressed that efforts to contain the spread of the virus should not only be confined to doctors, nurses and the Ministry of Health, but should be expanded to teachers, journalists, public-sector workers, labourers and every Jamaican that can play his/her part in this critical drive.

Executive Director of CARPHA Dr James Hospedales told the Caribbean Media Corporation that with a population of 17 million people, the region is still in the early stages of the virus. He said the "full bloom of Chikungunya virus is yet to come".

According to the CARPHA head, in six months, the virus has spread to all the islands "and we can expect further increases in levels of cases based on what has happened elsewhere in the world where, in some countries, you find a 30 per cent attack rate of the entire population within a year or so."

Dr Alexis said that while each country in the Caribbean has had a different experience in relation to the spread of the virus, Jamaica has been fortunate to have recorded a low number, to date. He is urging the country to be vigilant, especially from a grass-root standpoint.

Chikungunya is a viral disease carried mainly by the Aedes Aegyptimosquito and causes a dengue-like sickness.

Symptoms include a sudden high fever, severe pain in the wrists, ankles or knuckles, muscle pain, headache, nausea, and rash. Joint pain and stiffness are more common with chikungunya than with dengue.

Visit health centres first

Dr Alexis is advising persons with symptoms of the virus to contact the primary health-care facilities before visiting hospitals. "We don't want to overwhelm our health sector any further. We want to direct them to the right place - the health centres - and then they will determine at that level whether they should be referred further or they can be managed there."

Last week, the Ministry of Health urged the administrators of schools across the country to take urgent steps to remove mosquito breeding sites at their institutions.

Yesterday, The Gleaner visited two institutions, one in St Andrew and the other in Portmore, St Catherine, and found areas of concern that could be conducive to mosquito breeding.

However, Principal of the Pembroke Hall High School Daniel Morgan said steps have been made by the school to maintain a clean environment to prevent mosquito breeding.

He said the Ministry of Health has visited the school on a number of occasions to carry out fogging. Despite this, students at the institution told The Gleaner yesterday that they have had to battle pesky mosquitoes daily while in class.

Morgan suggested that the breeding of mosquitoes could be taking place in proximity to the institution.

[blugiant]

as muta sed y jamaica nuh fog upp da place ann gitt ridd aff mosquito spreadinn pest

[RichD]

as muta sed y jamaica nuh fog upp da place ann gitt ridd aff mosquito spreadinn pest

apparently dem fogging

OCHO RIOS, St Ann — Chaos reigned at Ocho Rios High School in St Ann yesterday as students and teachers experienced fainting spells blamed on an early morning fogging, authorised by the Ministry of Health, to rid the premises of mosquitoes.Just why the fogging was carried out on the property mere minutes before classes for the first shift were scheduled to start was the question asked repeatedly by people in the resort town as news of the incident spread.
Yesterday, the Jamaica Observer was told that more than 50 students were rushed to St Ann's Bay Hospital for treatment.
"We picked up 11 students in the Coaster ambulance, five in the Hiace ambulance," said Professor Roosevelt Crooks, who was one of the first persons to respond to the emergency.
"I don't think that it is students in mass hysteria; teachers were also affected. I took down two teachers who were affected," Prof Crooks said, noting that several taxi operators also volunteered to help.
"The taxi men have been very responsive, the teachers have been responsive, but I laud the taxi men who have been picking them up at varying points in Ocho Rios. We have good citizens and we need to thank them," he added. He, however, expressed concern about the general response of Jamaicans to emergencies.
"Some of the traffic people need to yield a little more when they hear sirens coming, because I had to stop in the middle of the street to take up the first set because they weren't moving out of the streets, while people were running with students in their arms trying to get to the unit," he explained.
Patricia Hamilton, the Jamaica Teachers' Association representative at the school, was among the members of staff who accompanied the students to hospital.
"The support was immense. The situation has now been brought under control," she told the Observer yesterday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Acting Vice-Principal Christine Wellington made it clear that the school was not responsible for the fogging.
"I got to school about quarter past six; when I got there I noticed that the place was fogged. We went onto the compound, but it was affecting us, so we went to the main gate and we stood there," she explained.
She said students were instructed not to go on the compound. However, the number of students at the gate began to grow.
"More students kept coming and they were curious. The scent was really bad and so we instructed them not to go in," Wellington explained.
She said when the crowd of students got even bigger and began spilling onto the street, students were directed to the car park. However, students in the car park began complaining of respiratory problems and some began fainting and were rushed to hospital.
"What I have been told by the doctors is that most of them, it's mostly panic attack; a few really [had] asthma [attacks]," she explained.
Yesterday, Dr Kevin Harvey of the Ministry of Health explained that the fogging was part of a comprehensive mosquito control programme in the parish to prevent the spread of dengue.
"We were carrying out an activity in this area at about five, six o'clock this morning (on Tuesday). Some fogging took place in the Ocho Rios community which included this school. Because of the temperature and wind conditions there was some settling of the compound used, and hence the smell of this compound in the classrooms," he explained.
Dr Harvey said some students panicked because of the unusual smell.
"We had about 54 students who were taken to our health facilities; they were all reviewed with very mild respiratory symptoms; about four of the students had more moderate symptoms because they were known to be asthmatic and hence had a more severe reaction," he added.
He said those students were nebulised and all discharged from hospital.
Classes are expected to resume today with the afternoon shift. A team from the health ministry is also scheduled to visit the school.

[Blackstar*]

The fact that people keep barrels of water all about the place doesn't help matters either.

[blugiant]

apparently dem fogging

yuh a tell dat ja guv peeps soo dumb dat dem nuh plan wen da best thyme fe fogg da place.

plus oww cum dem give peeps warninn ann tell dem fe stay indoor cah dem fogginn chemical dangerous

incompetencee ting a gawn

[blugiant]

The fact that people keep barrels of water all about the place doesn't help matters either.

iff yuh nuh keep barrel aff water yuh might natt ave annee water ann iff yuh keep barrel aff water itt breed mosquitos.

damn iff yuh do damn iff yuh doan