Trinidad records dengue death
Published:Saturday | June 22, 2024 | 2:40 PM
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago has recorded its first dengue-related death since 2017, with Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh saying that the country has recorded 126 confirmed cases so far this year.
Deyalsingh would not divulge the name or gender of the person who succumbed to the mosquito-borne virus, saying “we have to protect the family's right to privacy, to let them mourn and come to terms with this.”
Deyalsingh said while the authorities would continue the fogging exercises to eradicate the Aedes mosquito, he is nonetheless urging people to follow the guidelines given by health authorities in preventing the spread of the virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that as of April 30, there have been 7.6 million cases of dengue reported globally, with 3,000 deaths.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Latin America and the Caribbean reported 9.3 million cases of dengue so far this year, twice the number of cases reported in all of 2023.
Chief Public Health Inspector, Dr Mark Dookeran, speaking on a television programme said, the Ministry of Health is going to “get tougher” on delinquent households in the fight against the spread of dengue.
“We have recognised that our education efforts are no longer enough and we are not getting the efforts we desire. Through the office of the public health inspectorate, we are going to inspect homes, and if we find things that should not be, we will be serving notices and laying charges in court for people found to be delinquent in cleaning around their homes.
Dookeran said the ministry intends to “break the chain of transmission” by using ultra-low volume (ULV) spraying once a case is detected.
ULV spraying is done by a truck-mounted device which can apply insecticide to large outdoor spaces.
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