Combating the Chikungunya Virus requires your support too

Aug 17, 2014 News

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By Sharmain Grainger

Guyana, through its health sector, has over the years dealt with many emerging public health threats ranging from leptospirosis to gastroenteritis, which have claimed lives.

Moreover, the sector is one that is expected to remain ever vigilant to tackle all constant as well emerging health threats, especially if it is to truly embrace the notion that “a nation’s health is a nation’s wealth.”
To help accomplish this gargantuan task, the health sector was earlier this year allocated a sum of $21.5 Billion of the $220 Billion national budget. And with additional financial support from donor agencies the likes of Global Fund, Guyana’s health sector is well on its way to protecting the nation.
Among the top priorities since the year commenced was that of warding off the Chikungunya virus which had since last year invaded a number of Caribbean territories.
Based on information from the World Health Organization (WHO), the virus was known to have been found in Africa, Asia and the Indian subcontinent, but had in recent decades been detected in Europe and the Americas.
Its arrival in the Caribbean was therefore a cause for concern, especially to Ministries of Health already taxed with prevailing health challenges.
As a viral disease transmitted to humans by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, the Chikungunya virus is one that is manifested by a range of symptoms ranging from high fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, nausea, skin rash and fatigue. And since the virus shares some clinical signs with dengue, reports out of the WHO indicate that it can be misdiagnosed, particularly in areas where dengue is common.
Although there is no cure for the disease, according to WHO, the virus is not believed to be life-threatening once it is treated early. After the bite of an infected mosquito, onset of illness occurs usually between four and eight days, but can range from two to 12 days.
Moreover, following infection, the only alternative is to treat the resulting symptoms.

In its quest to ward off the virus, the Ministry, armed with information of the virus’ outbreak in the Caribbean, remained on high alert. This translated to the procurement of some high-end fogging machines and an intense fogging regimen in sections of the country, mainly in the capital city, to reduce the mosquito population.
Moves were reportedly also made to beef up monitoring at Ports of entry, although Helath Ministry officials had insisted quarantine was not necessary, as the WHO had not recommended this.
CASES DETECTED
However, by May, the Health Ministry publicly reported that it had found its first two cases of the virus in Canje, East Berbice, Region Six. The victims were a toddler and a middle-aged woman. Reports out of the Ministry were that the two were not from the same household, and that they were responding well to symptomatic treatment.
Each of the victims’ afflictions was confirmed after blood samples were taken from them and sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency in Trinidad to be tested. Sending the sample to Trinidad was required because although Guyana reportedly has the necessary equipment to test for the virus at its National Public Health Reference Laboratory, there are no trained persons to do the tests.
This publication was told by officials of the Health Ministry and the Pan American Health Organisation that the two entities are collaborating to address this shortcoming. This simply means that someone is being trained to test for the virus here.
With the virus detected in Berbice, the Ministry was forced to divert expert attention to that section of the country in the form of Vector Control officers, who not only fogged and sprayed,, at strategic periods throughout the day, but even shared their expertise with persons there.
In addition, the Region was outfitted with the necessary capacity to tackle the virus on its own.
This, however, did not stop further infiltration by the virus, as before long it was detected in other sections of the Region and even across the Berbice River in sections of West Berbice, Region Five, and further. Persons in Georgetown and other Regions were soon infected too.
OUTCRY
Even as the numbers of infected persons swiftly increased, Minister of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsaran, in an effort to not alarm the population, tourists and investors alike, informed that works were being done quietly to combat the outbreak.
But the “quiet” work of the Ministry was not one that was fully accepted. In fact, A Partnership for National Unity’s Shadow Minister of Health, Dr George Norton, had shared his conviction that “the Ministry could be guilty of negligence” because of its “low profile” operation. And some residents wasted no time in expressing fears that they were being neglected.
“We have got to err on the side of caution and it might be better for us to create an alarm rather than have persons coming down with this virus,” Dr Norton said recently.
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
However I’ve come to learn through my own coverage of the outbreak that even with all the money in the world and technical support from international organizations, the health sector’s effort might be to no avail without the support of citizens themselves.
It all comes down to you aiding the process by taking the necessary environmental precautions. Since the virus is spread by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, efforts must be made to rid the environment of these vectors; and this can be done by other ways outside of fogging and spraying with chemicals that aren’t very pleasant smelling anyway.

Of note is the fact that the mosquito doesn’t thrive in dirty water, as some people believe, but rather, it multiplies in relatively clean but stagnant water. This therefore means if your tanks and drums of water are not covered properly, you could be aiding the prevalence of the vector and by extension, the virus.
A bucket sitting for days on a staircase collecting rain is also an ideal place for the mosquito to breed. Similarly, a bowl, a coconut shell or an old tyre tossed in a corner of your yard and allowed to accumulate water is also among the simple ways of ensuring that the virus continues its attack.
TAKING ACTION
Government certainly has a constitutional mandate to protect the health of the people, but you also have a responsibility to protect yourself and family too. Start by looking around your immediate environment for those potential breeding sites and don’t let the day pass without getting rid of them; your wellbeing may be dependent on this.
Additional precautions could be to ensure that the most vulnerable among you, such as pregnant women, children, the sick and the elderly, are allowed to sleep under mosquito nets.
You can also opt to spray your environment or body with the regular mosquito repellent sprays found right in your neighbourhood supermarket or shop. You can take further precaution by wearing long-sleeved clothing and pants, or dresses, to reduce ready access to the vector.
The Chikungunya virus, is therefore, in my humble opinion, not a threat to be afraid of, but rather it is one that can be easily brought to nothingness if each of us do our part in ensuring that it is not allowed to thrive.
However, should you or any family member manifest the symptoms characteristic of the virus, don’t opt to administer home-made remedies: head to the closest public health facilities where you have a right to access treatment at absolutely no cost.

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