Woodpulp…Grenada

GRENADA – Officials report increase in dengue cases by CMC, Aug 18th, 2010

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Health officials here are reporting a significant increase in the number of confirmed cases of dengue, with a spike during the months of July and August.

Head of the Health Ministry’s Epidemiology Unit, Dr Alister Antoine, said the situation was widespread across the tri-nation state.

“Every parish, including the Carriacou, has being affected with the youngest cases being a two-year old and the oldest being 72. In total, we have 20 males and 19 females,” Dr Antoine said Tuesday.

“The figures we have now are what we have just confirmed with the lab, meaning that there were 17 new cases diagnosed during the first week in August,” he said.

However, the health official said those persons confirmed to have dengue have since recovered from the mosquito-borne illness.

“I should also tell you that all the persons confirmed here have being treated and are healed from the disease,” he said, while pointing out that once a case is suspected in the clinic that person is put on treatment.

“So what you find happening is that by the time a person is lab confirmed, he or she is already well,” Dr Antoine added.

Looking back at the figures, he said that there was only one case in February but that by June the number increased to six and then jumped to 15 in July.[...]

Dr Antoine said that prevention is the best way to deal with this problem and priority should be given to cleaning up the immediate environment where people reside.

“People should be making it difficult for the mosquitoes to breed, just make it difficult by cleaning up the place,” he said.