– RHS Director
DIRECTOR of Regional Health Services (RHS), Dr. Narine Singh said Wednesday that Guyana is not experiencing an outbreak of dengue fever but the focus of Regional Health Officers (RHOs) is public awareness. He said the number of reported dengue cases is normal, in comparison to what were recorded around the same time last year.
“An outbreak is an abnormal increase in cases. The situation here has not reached those proportions,” Singh maintained.
He told the Guyana Chronicle there have been no reported deaths from the disease but acknowledged that five per cent of such cases become seriously life threatening when they develop into dengue haemorrhagic fever.
“We know there is an outbreak in neighbouring Caribbean territories, so what we are trying to do is alert people to take precautions against such an occurrence,” Singh said.
He said there is no vaccine to cure dengue and nor any specific treatment for it but, in Guyana, the treatment is symptomatic and supportive, in response to what the patient experiences.
However, anyone who feels infected should seek medical attention as soon as possible, Singh advised.
The ailment manifests itself with a sudden onset of fever, associated with headache, muscle and joint pains, distinctive retro-orbital pain (pain originating from behind the eyes) and rash. Some victims develop much milder symptoms which can be misdiagnosed as influenza or other viral infections when no rash or retro-orbital pain is felt.
The classic dengue fever lasts for between two and seven days, with a smaller peak of temperature at the trailing end of the sickness.
Cases of dengue haemorrhagic fever also show higher fever, variable haemorrhagic phenomena, including bleeding from the eyes and gut and blood oozing from skin pores. When the affliction develops into dengue haemorrhagic fever symptoms, it causes vascular leak syndrome which includes fluid in the blood vessels leaking through the skin and into spaces around the lungs and belly. This fluid loss and severe bleeding can cause blood pressure to fall, then dengue shock syndrome (DSS) sets in and that has a high mortality rate.
Singh said the more vulnerable area in Guyana is the coastland and people living there are encouraged to use bed nets, repellants when going outdoors and even wear long sleeve clothing.
“This is especially important for babies, pregnant women and elderly people. They are the most vulnerable and likely to succumb,” he cautioned.
Singh said, at an environmental level, efforts are being made to introduce lavacidal treatment, with an insecticide designed to kill larval pests.
He said the campaign will be started in Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica), as it is the most populated and taken to the other Regions, subsequently.
Singh said the primary way to prevent the spread of dengue is to reduce the mosquito population.
“We are doing what we can to help, but the main idea is public awareness,” he said.
Among the common health advisories are to:
* maintain clean surroundings;
* turn pails and watering cans over and store them under shelter, because they can serve as breeding grounds for mosquitoes if water gathers in them;
* remove any old tyres, which may collect water and provide breeding space for the mosquitoes, from the yard and
* dispose of garbage in the appropriate manner.