The Ministry of Health has ramped up testing for Dengue fever in Region Six, as that part of the country continues to see a big increase in the number of dengue cases, Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony disclosed today.

Speaking to reporters at the Ministry of Health today, Dr. Anthony said in response to the increasing number of cases being recorded, his Ministry has dispatched more than 4,000 testing kits to Region Six alone.

“Because of the cases that we have seen, we have increased testing, and we have added a number of sites where testing could be done. Over the last week, we have sent more than 4000 test kits to Region Six alone so that they can increase the number of tests they are doing,” the Health Minister said.

Dengue is a viral infection that spreads from mosquitoes to people, and is more common in tropical and subtropical climates. Common symptoms include high fever, headache, body aches, nausea, and rash.

Last week, a 12-year-old boy, Lokesh Ibrahim, who resided in Region Six, died from dengue. His case remains under active investigation. There have been several other deaths recorded over the past year in different parts of the country.

Minister Anthony said a special team, comprising health experts from the Ministry of Health, is closely monitoring the situation, and is providing medical support to local hospitals in the region. 

“For persons who get sick, and need to be hospitalized, we have added additional resources to both New Amsterdam, Skeldon and Port Mourant that if there is an increase in hospitalization that they would be able to take care of those things,” Minister Anthony said.

Also, at the regional level, the Ministry of Health is working with the local authorities including Town Councils and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) to fog communities, and remove stagnant water.

“We have been working with all the NDCs in Region Six to be able to control the mosquito population. Every NDC has been given equipment, chemicals, they are doing fogging. They are also doing larviciding, and we have teams now that are visiting every home, and looking for containers or stagnant water and advising the people living there on what to do, that is one aspect of what we are doing,” Minister Anthony said.

With the steps being taken, and the current systems in place, Minister Anthony anticipates that within days, the situation could be “stabilized.”

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