Publication: Midweek Nation
Paper Section And Page: 23A
Paper Date: Wed, Mar 27, 2002
Byline:
Dengue cases may be up, but according to Senior Medical Officer in the Ministry
of Health, Dr Ronald Knight, they have the disease under control.
Knight told a gathering at the third annual Dengue Fever and Leptospirosis Primary Schools Quiz and Competition at All Saints Primary in St Peter recently that the joint ministries were satisfied at the success of their approaches.
For this year, up to the first week in March, he said, there were 356 reported cases but there was only one suspected but unconfirmed death from the disease.
“Fortunately for this year we’ve had no confirmed deaths – one suspected but not confirmed. And we have no confirmed deaths reported for last year compared to the year before and the year before that,” said Knight, at the Maurice Byer Polyclinic event.
At the end of last year there were 1 043 cases of dengue**, compared with 960 for the year 2000 and about 700 in 1999.
Knight added: “I am certain that our control programmes have been able to improve both the number of cases occurring as well as the management of dengue fever in the country.”
He said while the cases were increasing, they maintained control over the disease, by controlling the different emerging strains.
Since 1997 when the first strain was reported, Knight stated that other strains of the disease had emerged within the following years and by last year all four types were present in the island.
The senior medical officer said projects such as the quiz and competitions in schools helped largely in keeping the information about prevention out there, which was essential.
The week’s competition saw the participation of ten schools in St Lucy, St Peter and St Joseph, in impromptu spelling and true and false rounds.
** In an earlier story, Dr Knight was quoted as saying that total dengue cases for 2001 was 1,070. See story here