Chief Medical Officer, Dr. David Johnson, reported an increase in the rate of hospitalizations related to dengue fever, but said no associated deaths have been reported so far. He said the rate of infection has climbed since September, adding the average patient ranged from age one to 21 years old.
Senior environmental health officer, Clara Charles, said the outbreak of the disease is everywhere, but most noticeable in Soufriere, Laudat, Jimmit, and Pondcasse areas of the Roseau health district.
Johnson said the Ministry of Health is fighting to ensure that no death results from the infection, saying the disease is caused by the bites of the Aedes aegypti mosquito. He revealed that there is no cure at the moment for dengue fever, stating its parasite is the same that cause Zika and Chikungunya fevers. According to him, the only way to prevent the three related fevers is to prevent being bitten by the Aedes aegyti mosquito.
Health experts warn that mosquitoes must not be allowed to breed around the house, and their breeding sites destroyed. These include stagnant waters in abandoned tires, water drums, pools, and bushes around the house. Patients begin to exhibit symptoms of dengue fever 4-10 days after being bitten by the culprit mosquitoes, and these include vomiting, joint pains, headache, high fever, skin rashes and fatigue.
In some cases of severe infection, patients could experience internal bleeding, abdominal tenderness and pains, intense body pains and diarrhea. In a few cases of serious infection, death may result. Children and adults with compromised immunity are mostly at risk, and so are aged folks and pregnant women.
CARPHA and PAHO/WHO, revealed that the best way to prevent getting infected include –
- Disallowing the collection of stagnant waters around the house
- Emptying abandoned containers, tires, drums and other things that could hold water for any length of time
- Spraying insecticides indoors to kill mosquitoes inside the house
- Sleeping inside mosquito-treated nets to keep the insects away
- Treating clothes with repellents such as permethrin
- Rubbing insecticide creams on exposed parts of the body before sleeping
- Closing all open doors and windows to prevent mosquitoes from gaining entry into the house
All the patients affected by dengue fever in Dominica have been successfully treated, with health experts cautioning against mosquito infestations in residential areas to prevent further outbreaks.
This article is copyright © 2019 DOM767
