Health officials in Jamaica have declared an outbreak of dengue fever Saturday with at least 565 suspected, presumed and confirmed cases in the Caribbean country.
Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Welfare said the outbreak came as its National Surveillance Unit “advises that Jamaica has passed the dengue outbreak threshold for July and August and is on a trajectory to do the same for September.”
“The dominant strain is Dengue Type 2, which was last dominated in 2010,” he said. “No dengue-related deaths have been classified at this time, however six deaths are under investigation.”
Health officials say there are currently at least 78 confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne disease in Jamaica.
“Meanwhile, approximately 500 temporary vector control workers have been employed and deployed across the island to high-risk communities alongside 213 permanent workers,” the Ministry of Health and Welfare said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the dengue virus “spreads to people through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito.”
About one in four people infected will become ill, with mild symptoms including nausea, vomiting, rash, aches and pains, according to the CDC.
Recovery takes about a week.
Health officials say there are currently at least 78 confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne disease in Jamaica. Sebastian Castaneda/Bloomberg via Getty Images
About 1 in 20 people infected will develop severe dengue, which according to the CDC “can result in shock, internal bleeding, and even death.”
“The Ministry and the Regional Health Authority have made the necessary preparations for a possible outbreak,” said Christopher Tufton, Minister of Health in Jamaica.
The ministry warned the public in Jamaica that the Aedes aegypti mosquito “breeds in any container environment” that can hold water, such as drums, tires, buckets and animal feed containers.
“People are urged to play their part in keeping cases to a minimum by monitoring water storage containers for mosquito breeding, keeping the environment free of debris, destroying or treating mosquito breeding grounds, wearing protective clothing, using mosquito repellent and, as much as possible, staying indoors at dusk with windows and doors closed,” he said.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
