The Caribbean Response to the Chikungunya virus The virus is carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. . Researchers may never know how the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus first entered the Caribbean last December, but local governments along with the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) are reportedly on the right track to cope with a health situation that could put at risk the regional tourism-dependent economy. James Hospedales, executive director of CARPHA, told businessweek that Caribbean governments spend millions of dollars every year to educate people and conduct mosquito control operations. Regarding warning people about the virus “it’s important to strike a balance without causing alarm”, he said. And that’s exactly what Dutch and French Saint Martin, Saint Barthelemy, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Dominica, the British Virgin Islands and French Guyana, the Caribbean States reporting chikungunya cases so far, are doing since early December, when the disease made its debut in Saint Martin. In Dutch and French Saint Martin tourism boards are working together to inform travelers about the outbreak upon arrival. According to Silviane John, Saint Martin’s tourism board director, updated information is being disseminated to airports and hotels, where complimentary mosquito repellent is being offered. In addition, authorities are spreading the word about the outbreak over the radio, TV, newspapers and newsletters for everybody to be properly informed, he said. In Dominica, where the first chikungunya case was recorded last week in the community of Good Hope, Chief Medical Officer Dr David Johnson, told Caribbean 360 that “there is no need for any alarm at this time”. Meanwhile, Chief Environmental Health Officer Anthony Scotland detailed measures being put in place in the locality. “A team is on the ground from the National Pest and Termite Company working alongside the environmental health department and health team members in doing some larva surveys in the community.” That includes houses inspected and treated for mosquito breeding around the island. As for CARPHA, which has made available on its web site a checklist of all the breeding places where mosquitoes can breed, coordinated efforts with regional governments started right upon confirmation of the first ever case of chikungunya in the Caribbean. “We have prepared ourselves by building the capacity of our staff to do the testing and our staff has been visiting and advising the countries including St. Martin even before this was on the horizon about the mosquito control programs in the countries. We are working closely with the French and Dutch authorities to have a coordinated approach to dealing with the problem by sharing numbers, sharing strategies to mosquito control and so on”, said CARPHA’s Dr Hospedales. According to CARPHA executive director, the agency has set up the testing sequence to follow if chikungunya is suspected. “Capacity is also there in terms of the ability to deal with the vector population and that varies by country”. Dr Hospedales admitted that being the Caribbean the most tourism-dependent region in the world, the spreading of the disease “could scare away tourists”. But he stressed that the region has “good capacity to detect, to diagnose and to respond” to the viral disease, first identified in Tanzania in 1953. Chikungunya causes a dengue-like sickness, and like dengue, it is also carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. However, unlike dengue, chikungunya is rarely lethal. The Caribbean has recorded about 280 cases of the new virus since early December. JustTravelDeals.ca
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 12:11:51 +0000
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