Health Minister downplaying Chikungunya situation – Dr Norton

Jul 01, 2014 News

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“We have got to forget about tourism and think about the health of the nation” – Dr Norton

Claims by Health Minister, Dr Bheri Ramsaran that all of the confirmed cases of the Chikungunya virus have been

transmitted in the Ancient County of Berbice, has been described as “almost unbelievable.”  This description was offered by a very vocal Shadow Minister of Health, Dr. George Norton, as he indulged this publication in a conversation on the matter yesterday.
According to Dr. Norton, “when one takes into consideration the Chikungunya virus situation in St. Lucia we can possibly be in a worse situation here in Guyana.” Reports are that the virus, which surfaced in the Caribbean for the first time last year, has reached disturbing proportions in the Windward Island.
And according to Dr. Norton, since the mosquito – the Aedes Aegypti – that transmits the virus is very prevalent in many sections of the country it is therefore not impossible for it to already be in many parts of Guyana.  In fact he theorised that since the symptoms of the virus are very similar to that of dengue fever, the possibility exists that a number of Chikungunya virus cases are being passed off as dengue fever. “We have the mosquito here, we have all the conditions here, and we have persons coming down with the symptoms so we can very well have a high percentage of the Chikungunya virus right here in Georgetown,” the Shadow Health Minister speculated.
This publication had received reports of the virus being confirmed in sections of the city but the Health Minister had assured that the virus had not entered Georgetown or any other part of the country for that matter.  He disclosed that the virus had been “imported” to the city, a process, he said, entailed the victims travelling to Berbice and being bitten by the mosquito before returning to their Georgetown residences. The Minister told this publication that there were only two such confirmed cases.
But according to Dr. Norton, a Member of Parliament, representing A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), the utterances by the Health Minister are unrealistic. “We know that that is not the case, that only Berbice has the virus,” said Dr. Norton. He went on to substantiate his argument by pointing out that there are absolutely no measures in place to ensure that the virus remains in Berbice. “There is nothing that is stopping the people from Berbice coming to Georgetown and some of the people from Georgetown going to Berbice, nothing…stopping the virus from being in other parts of the country,” said the Shadow Health Minister. He even observed that there have been no moves by the Health Ministry to quarantine or isolate persons with the virus in an attempt to help reduce transmission.
He recalled that a few years ago Guyana was able to guard against the Foot and Mouth Disease by ensuring that there were extensive screening processes even upon entry to areas such as the Rupununi. But according to him, such measures have not been employed by the Health Ministry to combat the Chikungunya virus which he recognised as a real public health threat.
Health before tourism
Dr. Norton has also vocalised his concerns about disclosures by Dr. Ramsaran that his Ministry has been seeking to tackle the virus quietly so as not to scare off tourists and investors and create panic. “I have a problem when the authorities are going to say that we are trying to not create a situation of alarm that would upset the tourist industry…that I cannot accept,” asserted Dr. Norton.
“We have got to forget about tourism and think about the health of the nation,” he passionately insisted.

And according to Dr. Norton, Guyana’s current inability to test for the virus is also another disturbing development.  Dr Ramsaran during an interview with this publication said that while Guyana has in place all the equipment to test for the virus at the National Reference Laboratory situated at Thomas and New Market Streets, Georgetown, there are currently no trained personnel to undertake the process. As a result, Guyana has been depending exclusively on the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Trinidad to confirm suspected cases of the virus.   Dr. Ramsaran in justifying the utilisation of CARPHA, noted, “We are happy that our CARPHA in Trinidad is doing what it is intended to do. We speak about regionalism and this is where regionalism is in action.”
However, Dr. Norton is certainly not buying the Minister’s explanation even insisting that “you can try to hide under the inefficiency and come out with a statement and say the reason we cannot test for the Chikungunya virus here is because we are maximising on regionalism.”
“In other words because it can be done in Trinidad then we mustn’t do it in Guyana? Trinidad don’t look at it that way, Barbados don’t look at it that way, Jamaica don’t look at it that way; no Caribbean island don’t look at it that way and say ‘oh we are maximising regionalism’ and that is why they don’t do things in their countries that can be done in Guyana.”
According to Dr. Norton, “that is a lame excuse and it is a direct reflection of the inefficiency of the Ministry of Health not to be able to diagnose the Chikungunya virus here in Guyana when according to them we have the equipment here on the ground.”
Minister Ramsaran has belatedly disclosed that moves are being made to have at least one person trained to test for the virus, an undertaking that is slated to be done with support from the Pan American Health Organisation and the Centres for Disease Control.
In the meantime though, Dr. Norton noted that Guyana will have to remain reliant on CARPHA to be able to confirm suspected cases of the virus. “We have about 100 samples waiting there and I don’t know up to when we can wait…” disclosed Dr. Norton who intimated that “our track record of sending samples abroad, even for the simple DNA test, is not one that anybody is proud of because either something is left behind or some never return…something always happens with our samples.”
Moreover, the Shadow Health Minister is convinced that not enough is being done to effectively deal with the Chikungunya virus in Guyana.  “I don’t think that we have done enough at the level of the health centres or even the hospitals where there should be systems in place so as soon as people present with symptoms there is somebody who takes off the samples and gets them to Trinidad…I don’t think we have a system specially in place to look at that,” Dr. Norton speculated.
The symptoms of the Chikungunya virus include: fever, muscle and joint pains, headaches, rashes and nausea. Since there is no cure for the virus, like dengue, efforts are focused on treatment of the various symptoms. However if the symptoms are not treated there are debilitating effects including curved limbs, paralysis and even death due to certain pre-conditions.  According to Minister Ramsaran, as at last week, his Ministry has been able to confirm 19 cases of the virus.

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