Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 20/Jul 14:56

Dengue cases concentrated in south, central Trinidad

HEALTH Minister Terrence Deyalsingh says the majority of dengue cases are concentrated in the southern and central counties of Trinidad, specifically Counties Victoria, St Patrick, and Caroni. He said available resources are being concentrated in those areas. Speaking at a media conference on July 19 at the Ministry’s Head Office, Queen’s Park East, Deyalsingh said as of July 19, there were 392 laboratory-confirmed cases and three deaths. The Health Minister said Penal/Debe Regional Corporation principal medical and health officer Dr Oumatee Arjoon-Singh, Siparia Borough Corporation public health administrator Farzan Rasul, and Princes Town Regional Corporation principal medical and health officer Dr Olalekan Jumat agreed that source reduction at the home level, not spraying, was the way to go. “This issue is being politicised. Please listen to these public officers. They are from the areas most affected and they are saying that source reduction is the best option.” Epidemiology Division technical director Dr Avery Hinds said approximately half the confirmed cases were in young people between five-19, and the other half were in older people. Insect Vector Control Division medical officer of health Dr Osafo Fraser said a meeting was convened with the regional corporations (RCs), the county medical officers of health (CMOH) and IVCD on Friday to continue co-ordinating the response to the outbreak. “These three organisations form the pillars of the response to dengue and all vector-borne diseases. The CMOH and IVCD provide the RCs with information that can be used to target areas for action. We will give them areas where cases of dengue exist, where we’ve identified a large amount of breeding sources, so they can go in and do the heavy lifting required to deal with some of those areas.” [caption id="attachment_1097294" align="alignnone" width="1024"] MY POINT IS: From left, medical officer of health of the Insect Vector Control Division (IVCD) Dr Osafo Fraser; Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram; and Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Faris Al-Rawi at a media conference about dengue at the Ministry of Health on Queen’s Park East, Port of Spain on July 19. - Photo by Faith Ayoung[/caption] Deyalsingh outlined some areas which would be strengthened after the meeting. These included issues of poor sanitation and the use of surveillance through the CMOHs and sentinel physicians. “The response of the CMOHs and the RCs would be to prioritise high-risk areas with large clusters. In those areas, once you confirm you have active cases, those cases will be immediately sprayed to break the chain of transmission, including the neighbours and possibly a half-mile radius don’t get bitten by the same mosquitoes.” CMOH Caroni Dr Jeanine St Bernard said sentinel physicians report confirmed and suspected dengue cases to the health ministry. She asked that when cases are reported, specific addresses should be collected so public health inspectors could be sent to inspect the premises. Deyalsingh said members of the public could report cases directly to the CMOHs, and the numbers for these offices could be found on the ministry’s website. He explained the index method by which areas to be sprayed were chosen. “When inspectors go out and inspect 100 homes, if they determine four of those homes contain breeding sites that pose a danger to the household and their neighbours, that index of four or above requires chemical intervention. Four and less, source reduction. The corporations have been working with the public on source reduction and doing chemical intervention when required.” Deyalsingh appealed to the public to ensure they removed the areas where mosquitoes could breed, including saucers for plant pots, vases, buckets, old tyres and other containers. He made a special appeal to people with Bromeliads to eliminate them, as they are natural breeding grounds for mosquitoes. He said under the expanded yellow fever regulations, where the fines had been increased to $3,500 when the Zika virus was an issue in 2016, 71 notices had been issued. “Last week Friday (July 12), 31 notices had been issued, so 40 more have been issued. That is one of the main measures to get public compliance.” Deyalsingh said the current dengue outbreak will not be declared a public health emergency as it does not meet the international criteria for such an event. CMO Dr Roshan Parasram said the four criteria used by the World Health Organization to determine a public health emergency were: Is the public health impact of the event serious? Is the event unusual or unexpected? Is there a significant risk of international spread? Is there a significant risk for international travel or trade restrictions? [caption id="attachment_1096096" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A state vehicle sprays insecticide to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits dengue fever during a fumigation operation in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on July 12. - AFP PHOTO[/caption] He said the uptick in dengue cases happens every five to seven years, so it was not unexpected. He said the disease is endemic in over 100 countries between 35 degrees north and south of the equator, so there is no threat of international spread from Trinidad and Tobago. “The data suggests the largest burden of cases in St Patrick, Victoria and Caroni, and that equates going to the San Fernando General Hospital and the Point Fortin Health Facility and Hospital. The figures from both institutions show that 15-19 per cent of the cases presenting to accident and emergency are viral illnesses, including dengue, and this is in keeping with what we see at this time of year. The remaining 81-85 per cent presenting are for chronic diseases such as diabetes, uncontrolled hypertension, etc.” Parasram said for these reasons, dengue did not tick any boxes for being declared a public health emergency. He said the two main dengue serotypes currently present were Type II and Type III. Al-Rawi: Local Government doing its best Rural Development and Local Government Minister Faris Al-Rawi said the regional corporations and the ministry were doing as much as they could to assist with controlling the mosquito population. “No matter how much we clean this country, people insist on polluting it. It is shocking to see people still throw things out into drains, tyres, fridges. Several RCs have in-house fogging capabilities. All corporations are involved in cutting, clearing and movement. “The law permits inspection and action in relation to breeding sites which cause public health concerns. We have the co-ordination of the litter wardens, municipal police and the public health inspectors. Everyone at the local government level is working; what is missing is the co-operation of the public.” He said various pieces of legislation could deal with the issue of compliance, including the Public Health Ordinance, the Litter Act, the Yellow Fever Regulations and others. Al-Rawi appealed to neighbours to look out for others in their community who might not be able to take care of their property, including the elderly and infirm. The post Dengue cases concentrated in south, central Trinidad appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.