Chikungunya

Hello there! How was your past week? Mine was okay! This week I’ll be talking about Chikungunya!Chikungunya is a relatively new disease here in Guyana and it has already spread vastly! This Chikungunya is a vector-borne disease – meaning that it is spread by mosquitoes. I’ve barely heard of it for more than six months and many of my friends and relatives have gotten it!
This disease is of growing concern because there have been hundreds of reported cases and a few cases resulted in deaths! If this isn’t serious I don’t what is!
Once you’ve been bitten by the mosquito and you are infected, Chikungunya causes joint pain, fatigue, rashes, head ache and fevers. Now we can try to lessen or stop this disease altogether.
While the Ministry of Health is taking steps to combat this problem- like fogging out certain areas, etc., there are still things we can do to help ourselves.
* Read up and educate yourself as much as you can on this disease, because there’s no better weapon than knowledge.
* We can dispose our garbage properly and by doing this we will also help keep our surroundings clean.
* Cover all drums with water and other liquids, so as to prevent mosquito infestation.
* Close windows at nightfall. Try sleeping with mosquito nets and use mosquito repellants
And if you’ve done all of the above and you still see the symptoms of Chikungunya, go to your nearest hospital or any other medical facility. If you readily detect this disease I urge you to take the necessary precautions to take care of yourselves.
Quote for the week: (by Unknown)
“Life’s not worth living if you’re not trying to make a little difference!”
See you here again next week for my talk on “Ebola”- Right here in your favourite and best newspaper in Guyana!! Good-bye!

(By Vishani Ragobeer)