THREE adults and five children from two separate households in Albouystown and Campbellville were, earlier this week, rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) and treated for what is believed to be the dreaded mosquito-borne Chickenguniya disease.

Two adults and a ten-year-old girl from the Campbellville household, who were first taken to the hospital about two weeks ago, were said to have been positively diagnosed with the disease, according to the matriarch of the home, Joycelyn Griffith. They were given Panadol and sent home, but on returning home, two other children were said to have taken ill and were, on Thursday, taken to the GPHC for treatment.
The children, aged between nine and eleven years, were presented at the GPHC on Thursday with fever and headache, accompanied by swelling of the hands, knees and ankles and an inability to move the fingers. They, too, were treated with Panadol.

Some of the children at the GPH with swollen joints and fever

And the Campellville household was again stricken when three others — Ferma, Alex and Antoine — fell ill and were also taken for treatment at the GPHC. Their symptoms include fever and headache, and swelling of the knees, joints, wrists and ankles.
However, ten-year-old Antoine from the Albouystown household, whose condition seemed most severe, was set apart for ‘urgent’ investigations. He was sent to have an X-Ray and urine and blood tests done. He presented with fever, headache and swelling of the knees. His condition is being closely monitored.