“It’s going to get much worse before it gets better,” a few senior health officials have said of the Chikungunya virus outbreak here. Initial reports out of the Ministry of Health were that the virus was first detected in Region Six, then in sections of Georgetown, and even more recent reports suggest that it has infiltrated three more Regions, with the total number of confirmed cases rising to 31.
The Aedes Aegypti mosquito which spreads the Chikungunya virus
But this publication understands that currently the number of suspected cases have amounted to a few hundreds, forcing the Health Ministry to further spread out its human resources to battle the impact of the mosquito-borne virus.
Minister Bheri Ramsaran in a televised broadcast recently disclosed that moves have been made to train additional vector control workers from at least four Regions in an attempt to bolster the Ministry’s efforts to tackle the virus. This comes even as efforts are being made to train personnel to test for the virus here at the National Reference Laboratory. Thus far, all cases here have been confirmed by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Trinidad.
Several attempts by this publication to contact Dr. Ramsaran, to ascertain to what extent the efforts of the Ministry have been intensified in light of the spread of the disease were futile.
Dr. Ramsaran has in recent days been filtering controlled information about his Ministry’s efforts to deal with the virus through the State’s official media outfit – the Government Information Agency (GINA).
According to a GINA report, “the Chikungunya virus has made its way to other parts of the country with seven of the 12 newly confirmed cases emanating from Regions Three, Four, Five and the City.”
According to GINA, the Minister has said that there are three cases from the areas of Bath Settlement, Bush Lot and Number Nine Village, all in West Berbice; one each from Mahaicony and Ithaca; one from North Ruimveldt and one from Crane, West Coast Demerara.
The Ministry, since the detection of the virus, has intensified its surveillance efforts, and according to reports reaching this publication, about 10 cases matching the virus’s case definition are reported on a daily basis. Its case definition include: fever, rash, headache, muscle and joint pains, and malaise. These symptoms are known to cause moderate to severe ailment that can even be life-threatening if there are certain existing pre-conditions.
The Minister, who had insisted that all of the initial cases, even those among residents of Georgetown, originated in Berbice, has since disclosed that he is unaware whether the later cases had any linkage to the Ancient County. He has however noted that the Epidemiologist, attached to the Health Ministry, Dr. Morris Edwards, is tasked with analysing the acquired data.
The Health Minister at the onset of the outbreak had insisted that strategic moves were being made to contain the virus to East Berbice. However, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)’s Shadow Minister of Health, Dr. George Norton, had insisted that such an ambition was unrealistic, since containment measures were not in place.
According to Dr. Norton, “when one takes into consideration the Chikungunya virus situation in St Lucia, we can possibly be in a worse situation here in Guyana”. Reports are that the virus, which surfaced in the Caribbean for the first time last year, has reached disturbing proportions in the Windward Island.
In fact, he theorised that since the symptoms of the virus are very similar to those of dengue fever, the possibility exists that a number of Chikungunya virus cases are being passed off as dengue fever.
“We have the mosquito here, we have all the conditions here, and we have persons coming down with the symptoms, so we can very well have a high percentage of the Chikungunya virus right here in Georgetown,” the Shadow Health Minister speculated.
In addition to raising awareness about the virus, the Health Ministry has been intensifying its fogging efforts, particularly in the city and Berbice.
The Chikungunya virus is spread by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito which is prevalent in sections of Guyana. The same mosquito is also known to transmit dengue fever which is characterised by similar symptoms, all of which are treatable. However, it can result in some long-term effects primarily joint pains and paralysis. Depending on an individual’s body reaction after the incubation period, persons may experience pain even after seeking medical attention. This period can last from two to six days with symptoms lasting four to seven days after infection.
Individuals experiencing any such symptoms are asked to visit a health facility as soon as possible.
Also, persons are encouraged to keep their environment clean in order to reduce the breeding ability of the mosquito.
According to information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), as of June 27, 2014, a total of 259,723 suspected and 4,721 laboratory-confirmed Chikungunya cases had been reported in the Caribbean, Central America, or South America.
The disease was first reported in the Caribbean in December 2013, and has since touched Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Suriname, Turks and Caicos Islands, and US Virgin Islands.