Monitoring the flu outbreak

Jun 04, 2013 Editorial

In countries all over the world there are times when certain diseases rear their heads sometimes with such fury that newspapers and the other sections of the media could not resist carrying reports of the situation. Right now, the main focus is on the so-called Bird Flu that has claimed a number of lives.
This is not the first time that there has been an outbreak of the Bird Flu. When the world first became aware of it health officials used all their resources to zero in on the source. Guyana got caught up and began screening people. There was a brief moment of panic when the Georgetown Public Hospital cleared out a section of the hospital for suspected cases.
And as fate would have it, the authorities were certain that they had found some cases of the Bird Flu. It turned out that the people who were confined did not have the virus. But the news had gone out; people began to look at anyone from mainland China with suspicion.
A few decades ago, Guyana was home to the Hong Kong Flu, and another called the Wang Yu Flu. These were not known to be deadly but they severely hurt the sufferers. This time around there is another flu outbreak but unless one were to speak to some of the sufferers this would never be known.
The Ministry of Health has not issued any notice perhaps because there has been no monitoring of the incidence of this flu which is so far unnamed. A casual examination would reveal that entire offices have had to operate with skeleton crews because many of the people have fallen ill.
Of interest is that this outbreak appears to be so ravenous that one wonders why has there been no attempt to highlight the incidence. The truth is that the modern constructions do not take into consideration incidences such as this. The rooms are blocked to accommodate air-conditioning. The units circulate the same air, albeit a little refreshed but the virus is circulated with it.
In the metropolitan countries the authorities pay close attention to the flu season. They set up centres to give people flu shots. They then instruct those afflicted to remain at home. Indeed, those buildings are fashioned the way they are because of their extreme weathers. But the administration goes further; it treats the atmosphere with some disinfectant spray that is touted to kill viruses.
This has not been the case in Guyana because the nation is largely unaware that there is an influenza outbreak. No one has as yet approached the Ministry of Health for a report on this outbreak and they probably will not until something disastrous occurs.Up until the floods of 2005 most Guyanese had never heard of leptospirosis. This is a water-borne disease that enters the body through open sores and ulcers. When the floods came some thought that the occasion was time for fun and frolic. Then they started to die and the scare factor emerged.
There is no indication that this flu is a killer type although medical experts say that all strains of influenza can be deadly. Factors such as age, a debilitating ailment and some allergic reactions could be the breaking point.
At the same time, Guyana is not known to have a flu restraint programme. It is noteworthy that the country has one of the most efficient vaccination programmes in the region. Not so long ago the Ministry of Health introduced another vaccination to combat cervical cancer. But these programmes do not extend to issues such as flu.
However, the private hospitals all charge a fortune to provide the so-called flu shots and the other vaccines that Guyanese see on television. The view is that the private hospital offers a better service. The truth is different.
The Ministry of Health should resuscitate its monitoring programme. The nation needs to know how widespread is this flu epidemic.

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Monitoring the flu outbreak

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