| Guyana is under threat of a massive dengue fever outbreak and if this is to be averted, it would take the collaborated effort of everyone.This is the view of Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy in urging Guyanese to work to avoid what could become a catastrophic situation.Dengue fever has persisted and even increased in the Region of the Americas during this year and reports show that the number of cases in neighbouring Trinidad has been steadily increasing.Increased cross border activities with countries such as Brazil has primarily been responsible for Guyana also seeing an upsurge in cases recently.Just recently, a number of Brazilians travelled to Region Nine, where they received medical attention after being diagnosed with dengue fever.This region still remains a ‘hot spot’ for the disease and is being closely monitored by the Health Ministry.However, because of consistent travel around the country, dengue cases have been reported on the coastland, and in Georgetown.Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne infection that causes a severe flu-like illness, and sometimes a potentially lethal complication called dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF).While the Health Ministry is working to tackle the problem and has implemented a number of initiatives, Minister Ramsammy pointed out that everyone has to take responsibility for averting the outbreak. He reiterated that the only way to prevent dengue virus transmission is to combat the disease-carrying mosquitoes.“The mosquito that causes dengue fever lives in our yards … in the water that accumulates in old tyres and containers that we leave lying around.People have to realize that through little actions they can help save their families and help to keep the dengue cases down in Guyana,” the Minister said.With the seasonal rains upon us, which will result in an explosion of mosquitoes, the Minister is advocating that every family should be in possession of a bed net.The Aedes Aegypti is the main transmitter of dengue fever. The Aedes mosquito has a black body and its legs have white spots and stripes.They are known as “Tiger mosquitoes” and are active in the daytime, early mornings and late afternoon. They breed on clean water in buckets, flower pots and just about anywhere there is stagnant water.In recent decades, dengue fever has become a major international public health concern.Dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), a potentially lethal complication, was first recognized in the 1950s during dengue epidemics in the Philippines and Thailand. Today,Air Max 90 Black And White, DHF affects most Asian countries and has become a leading cause of hospitalization and death among children in the region.There are four distinct,Cheap Flames Jerseys, but closely related, viruses that cause dengue. Recovery from infection by one provides lifelong immunity against that virus but confers only partial and transient protection against subsequent infection by the other three viruses.There is good evidence that sequential infection increases the risk of developing DHF, which can cause rapid deterioration and cardiovascular disease and eventually, death.Commenting on the considerable upsurge in dengue cases this year, Minister Ramsammy said that this could be due largely to increased surveillance efforts as well as the numerous detection sites now available.Prior, only the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation conducted testing for the dengue virus.This is now being done at all major hospitals throughout the country.He, however,Kevin Love Jersey, acknowledged that there has been more than a marginal increase in cases over the last year.Of the 12,000 homes visited in Georgetown during a recent initiative aimed at filaria reduction and education,Womens Nike Free Run, 800 were found to have containers which harboured mosquito larvae.Forty-three thousand containers were examined countrywide and 15,000 were discovered to have mosquito larvae.As the world grapples with climate change issues, tropical counties such as Guyana can expect to see an increase in vector-borne diseases such as yellow fever and dengue fever.“Luckily, this is one issue that we can conquer if we all get involved…All it takes is a little stagnant water for these mosquitoes to breed and if we can eliminate breeding areas, we stand a great chance of dealing with this problem,” Minister Ramsammy said.The incidence of dengue has grown dramatically around the world in recent decades. Some 2.5 billion people – two fifths of the world’s population – are now at risk from dengue. WHO currently estimates there may be 50 million dengue infections worldwide every year.In 2007 alone, there were more than 890 000 reported cases of dengue in the Americas, of which 26,000 cases were DHF.The disease is now endemic in more than 100 countries in Africa,Pat Tillman Cardinals Jersey, the Americas,Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys, the Eastern Mediterranean, South-east Asia and the Western Pacific. South-east Asia and the Western Pacific are the most seriously affected. Before 1970, only nine countries had experienced DHF epidemics, a number that had increased more than four-fold by 1995.Not only is the number of cases increasing as the disease is spreading to new areas, but explosive outbreaks are occurring. In 2007, Venezuela reported over 80,000 cases, including more than 6,000 cases of DHF. |
