St. Kitts
updated on November 10 2008
The St. Kitts and Nevis Ministry of Health (MoH) is afraid that Dengue may have reached the shores of the twin-island federation. Medical practitioners have reported an increase in the number of persons presenting to them with the classic signs and symptoms of Dengue.
But in an exclusive interview with the Sun Weekend (St. Kitts and Nevis) on Tuesday, November 04, Acting Chief Environmental Health Officer Elton Morton reported that there were “a couple of Suspected Cases so far this year. They are being treated and the blood samples are being sent to CAREC (Caribbean Epidemiology Centre)“ in Trinidad for confirmatory testing.
The word “couple” was used very loosely and could not be understood to mean the precise number of Dengue cases in St. Kitts/Nevis.
Acting Chief EHO Elton Morton, in trying to explain the entry of Dengue into the Federation, alluded to the frequent shopping trips that his countrymen make to nearby St. Maarten, which is experiencing a full blown epidemic right this moment.
Additionally, he suggested that the many Guyanese and Trinidadian nationals in the country might provide a clue to this puzzle. Dengue in Guyana is at endemic levels whereas in Trinidad, Dengue outbreaks have already claimed at least 7 lives and resulted in the infection of over a thousand persons. “We have Guyanese and Trinidadians coming here, in and out,” Morton told the Sun, “so we know the virus is going to reach here. People from here will be going to St. Maarten and (may) bring back the virus.”
The MoH is, therefore, warning residents (including mothers with young babies) of St. Kitts and Nevis who are suffering with a fever, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes and bleeding to seek medical attention without delay. All are advised further not to use any pain killers containing aspirin or ibuprofen. That is because the active ingredients in these products are blood thinners and will only serve to worsen the bleeding.
Remember too that there is a potentially fatal complication of Dengue called Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF), which is manifest by bleeding through the openings in the body as well as the gums. Paracetamol and Acetaminophen are safe to relieve pain and fever associated with Dengue.
The Environmental Health Departments on both St. Kitts and Nevis are currently conducting public education programmes aimed at reducing the number of water-bearing containers in the human environment that may allow for the breeding of the Dengue mosquitoes.
It is the intention of the EH Department to fog the entire island of St. Kitts. As of last week, most areas had been covered.
Acting CEHO Elton Morton closed by promising that there will not be an outbreak of Dengue in the country because the mosquito population will be under control before then.
