A Nevispages.com weekly feature by Curtis Morton Sr.
The way I see it when it’s not one thing, it’s another!
So, here we are, muted in fear, as we struggle against the unknown vices of COVID-19 and as we wait with bated breaths, as the borders reopen at month-end.
What will the future hold?
Will there be a huge spike in the cases?
Will our people stop being so lapse and careless in observing the protocols, or will we see an attitude change for better health care?
Then, this month, the focus has been on CANCER and so many lives in our very island have been touched by the dreaded scourge and not to mention the many affected family members.
So, you will think, that’s it? No way Jose!
We are now hearing about one that has been a common visitor to our shores – DENGUE fever.
Well I newa!
“Dengue Fever is a mosquito-borne disease transmitted by the bite of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito. Persons infected with the virus develop signs and symptoms on average five days after being bitten by the mosquito. The most common symptoms of Dengue Fever include fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains and a red itchy rash. Characteristic in children is the appearance of glands to the neck. Symptoms generally last for five days with resolution of the fever at day five. There may be the persistence of the fever beyond day five with worsening of one’s general condition. This occurs in approximately 5 per cent of persons who progress to the severe form of dengue infection.
In its more severe form, persons may experience bleeding from the gums or nose, vomiting blood or passing blood in the stool and/or severe abdominal pain. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for dengue. Management is strictly supportive based on presenting symptoms. It is important to note that Dengue Fever cannot be transmitted from one person to another in the absence of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito. An infected individual and the mosquito are required for the transmission of Dengue Fever. Prevention and control, therefore, involves the elimination of the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
The Ministry of Health has been engaging in activities aimed at the reduction and control of the spread of the Dengue Fever. Such activities include increased public education, clean up campaigns, island-wide fogging, and inspection of premises with complaints.
The public is reminded of the measures to reduce the mosquito population such as removal of all open containers with stagnant water in and surrounding your home on a regular basis (such as flower plates and pots and used tires). If that is not possible, water containers can be treated with larvicides. Tight coverage of water containers, barrels, wells and other water storage tanks; use of window/door screens by the population wherever possible. There are also measures which can be adopted to prevent the bite. These include use of repellents and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants especially during the hours of highest mosquito activity, use of long-lasting insecticidal treated mosquito bed nets.”
In August 2020, the Ministry of Health and Wellness of Saint Lucia declared an outbreak of Dengue Fever. To date, Saint Lucia has recorded a total of 503 confirmed dengue cases. Other cases and some deaths have been reported in St. Vincent & The Grenadines; Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint Barthélemy and Grenada.
I remember as a young Public Health inspector, conducting routine visits in a particular village (which will remain unnamed for the purpose of this class) and I met a lady who had an uncovered drum of water in her yard. The water was filled with what we call WRIGGLERS. I POINTED OUT TO THE LADY, THAT THOSE CREATURES ARE ACTUALLY MOSQUITO LARVAE OR PUT ANOTHER WAY-BABY MOSQUITOES. I informed her that she had a serious problem and that she needed to get rid of the water, clean out the drum and get it properly covered in the future, to prevent the unwelcome critters from laying their eggs in the water.
The seemingly nice lady suddenly became very angry and annoyed and told me in no uncertain terms, that she was not going to get rid of the water, nor the WRGGLERS. I gathered from her rantings that once she saw wrigglers in the water, she knew that her water, which she used for drinking was not poisoned.
Well I newa!
I must admit that I never looked at it from that perspective.
However, with so many plagues at our doorsteps, we have to fully trust in God to get us through these times, but by his grace, we also have to do what we can, in order to prevent, what we can prevent.
That’s the way I see it. How do you see it?