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Health Ministry reviews protocol in Region One
By Sharmain Cornette
Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud
As part of measures to address the mystery illness which has been detected in Region One, the Health Ministry was forced to review the protocol customarily engaged by the health workers in the various communities.
This disclosure was made by Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Shamdeo Persaud, who revealed yesterday that intense investigations continue in the Region, particularly in the Kariakou and Port Kaituma areas.
He disclosed that the move to review the medical operation within the region was crucial as the health workers there were not accustomed to managing symptoms at the level that characterise the mystery illness. The ailment, according to reports, has claimed the lives of at least four residents of the Region.
The fourth reported death occurred last week Thursday in Kariakou; one day after a medical team had left the area, according to a resident.
The medical team had arrived there the previous Friday, and was providing residents with treatment which seemed enough to reduce the impact of the illness.
The latest victim of the mysterious illness, Joe Harrison, was reportedly in his 60s.
Reports reaching this newspaper last week were that Harrison had no symptoms of the illness which is characteristic of vomiting, cramps and diarrhoea while the medial team was around.
However, it was soon after they left that he developed the symptoms and subsequently died.
This newspaper was informed that the peculiar illness became evident about a month ago and had not gained the full attention of the Ministry until the deaths were recorded.
It was disclosed that up to Friday last at least four more persons were experiencing the symptoms.
And in order to urgently arrest the situation, Dr Persaud related yesterday that medical teams that had travelled to the Region were tasked with setting up infusions to tend to those plagued by the strange illness.
According to the CMO, “We had to put measures in place rapidly in order to deal with the situation. These are not things that these health workers do regularly. Infusions and so forth are mainly done at the bigger hospitals where you have the doctors.”
A medical team dispatched by the Health Ministry was up to yesterday still in the Region examining residents that had fallen sick, and taking any possible samples, including stool, water and blood, which once tested, could shed some light on the cause of the illness, Dr Persaud asserted.
“We are still not sure what the causative agent is. So we are hoping that once we are able to test these samples at the National Public Health Lab we would be able to deal a lot better with the situation.”
Dr Persaud last Friday had told this newspaper that the Ministry of Health is very concerned about the situation, thus has scheduled a number of visits to areas in Region One in the quest to ascertain the cause of the illness.
According to him, critical among the investigative measures to address the situation is the need to engage a sampling process. As such, he noted that there is need for samples to be taken to a laboratory as soon as possible, while the germs within them are still alive, to allow for accurate tests.
The CMO himself returned from Port Kaituma last Thursday with samples which according to him were slated to be tested at the National Reference Lab. However, up to yesterday the result of those tests were not at the CMO’s disposal. He divulged to this newspaper that the condition in the Region One area is of some concern, since the way in which human waste is disposed by some may be questionable.
He lamented the fact that the Health Ministry does not have enough Environmental Inspectors to really address and arrest that situation.
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