Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) is reporting a drop in dengue cases. The Regional Health Officer (RHO), Dr Vineshri Khirodhar, says that while the disease is still relevant in the region, the number of persons being hospitalised has been reduced but warns that if persons who display symptoms of the disease do not show up at medical facilities to get tested, authorities will not have accurate figures.
Region Six RHO, Dr Vineshri Khirodhar
In April of this year, two children in Region Six died from dengue as the region recorded 332 cases for that month.
However, according to Regional Health Officer Dr Vineshri Khirodhar, there has been a drop in the number of reported cases.
While not providing figures to the media, she said having a decline in dengue does not mean that they have been able to eradicate dengue from the region.
According to the RHO, the situation is under control, and it required large-scale resources throughout the region: from the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, the health clinics, and health centres.
The Regional Health Officer says now they are getting results from interventions taken two months ago.
“We have started, and we still continue to carry out, fogging exercises throughout each community, but this is done every 28 days. We are doing house-to-house IRS spraying, which is Internal Residual Spraying. We are doing this house-to-house. This means we are on foot with a tank strapped to our back, and we are going house-to-house to do this type of exercise, which is the IRS spraying,” she noted.
The RHO said they have seen many results with the house-to-house exercise in the eradication of mosquito eggs and young mosquitoes.
The chemical being used, according to her, is safe for humans and pets but harmful to the mosquitoes.
“It means we can spray it in the house, and within an hour or two, you are okay. Of course, when we are doing the spraying, we do not encourage a lot of people to be around, but it is totally harmless to humans. We have seen massive results from the IRS spraying, so we are doing this throughout the region,” the RHO said while noting that there is a central team at the Regional Health Service Office situated in New Amsterdam.
“But we also have smaller teams at each NDC, and we expect each NDC to take care of their community,” Dr Khirodhar added.
In May, it was reported by health authorities in the region that Skeldon and Port Mourant were considered hot spots for dengue in the region. The RHO said they have already completed sanitising about 90 per cent of the houses in those two communities and between 60 and 70 per cent of the houses at Albion, which was considered as another hot spot.
“I don’t want to take this for granted; dengue is there. Once we have mosquitoes in the country, you will always have a rise in dengue. Our goal is to put an end to it, and in order to put an end to it, we need community involvement. I mean, my team cannot go into someone’s yard and remove damaged receptacles like barrels, drums, old tyres and so on. We can’t do that. We can only plead and ask the residents to take care of it. So, our jobs are not easy.”
Dr Khirodhar says the team have to deal with harsh elements, rain and sunshine, when they are on foot and working every day.
Nevertheless, she reiterates there are still admissions in the hospital, but they have decreased.
