KINGSTON, Oct 8 (NNN-CARIBBEAN NEWS NOW) — Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Wellness launched its Dengue Outbreak Mitigation Plan, which includes search-and-destroy operations, clinical management, workforce management, surveillance, and public education.
“The plan’s objective is to lessen the dengue outbreak’s negative effects on the populace,” stated Dr Christopher Tufton, Portfolio Minister.
Along with about 213 regular employees, about 500 temporary vector-control personnel have already been hired and sent to high-risk regions throughout the island. He said that to strengthen the response’s search-and-destroy and health-education components, another 600 temporary employees are currently employed.
In his address in the House of Representatives, he said all parish health emergency operations centres and the National Health Emergency Operations Center had been operational.
These facilities will oversee initiatives in high-risk regions across all parishes and supply vital surveillance data.
“The Ministry has additionally devised a public education campaign encompassing focused messaging regarding search-and-destroy operations in areas with high human traffic density and homes, safeguarding children and identifying severe dengue warning signs, treating dengue and the appropriate drug regimens, and individual accountability for mitigating dengue in our environs,” Dr Tufton informed the House.
He added that regional teams from the Ministry of Education and Youth as well as the Ministry of Health and Wellness had convened and decided on a number of measures, such as training school staff in search-and-destroy procedures, gathering principals to discuss better coordination, and removing large amounts of waste from school grounds.
He said the government has set aside $331 million to finance mitigation projects around the island to contain the dengue spread.
According to information from the Ministry’s National Surveillance Unit, as of Sept 29, there were 1,117 suspected, confirmed, and assumed dengue cases.
160 of those are verified instances of dengue; 158 of those are serotype 2, one is serotype 3, and one is serotype 4.
According to Dr Tufton, the age group of five to fourteen years old remains the most affected, with youngsters one-year-old and under coming in second.
“Therefore, I am imploring parents to be vigilant with their kids and teenagers and to take the required steps to lower the dengue incidences among this susceptible group,” he declared.
The Minister emphasized that fever, headaches, joint and muscle pains, and fever are common symptoms of dengue, which are typically minor illnesses.
He mentioned that taking paracetamol to alleviate the associated fever and getting enough rest and fluids are common ways to treat the condition.
But occasionally, the infection might worsen to severe dengue, which can cause bleeding, shock, and death from severe fluid loss and organ failure. Consequently, anyone who experiences fever, vomiting, intense abdominal discomfort, subcutaneous bleeding, extreme weakness, or confusion must seek medical assistance right away, Dr. Tufton said. — NNN-CARIBBEAN NEWS NOW
