East Bank students conduct survey to highlight possible rate of Chikungunya infection

Aug 29, 2014 News

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A large percentage of the residents of Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, have been plagued with Chikungunya-like symptoms. At least this is according to a survey conducted by a group of students who together have been attempting to track the purported infection rate.
The group (all friends), consisting of students between the ages of 14 and 16 of the Covent Garden and Diamond Secondary Schools who reside along the East Bank corridor, made the conscious decision to do the survey after hearing many concerns about the virus from residents in their respective communities.

According to group leader, 16-year-old Aneesa Ishmael, given the geographic spread of the East Bank Demerara, a decision was made to focus the survey in the Herstelling community. She pointed out that many reports about the virus have been coming from that section of the East Bank.
In groups of two, the youths took a day off from their summer vacation and branched out into sections of the community in order to gather first-hand information from the residents. Of the homes visited, at least half of the members claimed that they were manifesting signs and symptoms of the virus.
“If there were six people in a household about half already believed they had the virus,” Ishmael disclosed.
In fact, she noted that based on the information acquired, 82 per cent of the residents interviewed were suffering from symptoms that characterise the virus.
During the survey too, the group leader said that one of the principal concerns of residents was the state of sections of the community. According to her, the residents seemed convinced that they were being infected because their community was not benefiting from fogging and residual spraying to kill mosquito larvae. Some residents even raised concerns about the death of an individual at Peter’s Hall who they believed succumbed to complications after reportedly being infected with the virus, Ishmael revealed.
And the reports the group received is that those experiencing the symptoms range from toddlers to the elderly and “all of them are concerned how and when will it all be over,” added Ishmael, as she highlighted some concerns the residents had even extended to the medication they were administered.
Some residents shared the conviction that the relevant neighbourhood authority was not doing enough to help keep the environment free of overgrowth and garbage.
But according to Ishmael, the group was also able to take the opportunity to share information with some residents so that they too could help to protect their environment from the mosquitoes that transmit the virus.
“We have done our research and we know that if the environment is not kept tidy the mosquitoes can spread; if water is left opened in tanks and drums the mosquitoes can spread, so we tried to share this information with the residents,” Ishmael said yesterday.
During the survey, residents also complained about other challenges in the area such as the state of their roads. But Ishmael insisted that the primary aim was to ascertain the Chikungunya situation with a view of providing the information to the Ministry of Health in the hope of having it addressed urgently.
Yesterday Ishmael shared her group’s accumulated data with this publication even as she expressed optimism that the little they have done would help to effect some change in the society.  She disclosed too that the group has planned to conduct similar surveys in other East Bank communities shortly.
The Chikungunya virus, which is transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, is known to thrive in relatively clean but stagnant water. It is transmitted to humans through the bites of the mosquitoes which are commonly found in and around homes throughout Guyana.
The symptoms of the virus include: headache, skin rash, nausea, high fever and joint and muscle pains. The virus is not believed to be deadly, but early treatment is recommended to prevent the development of other conditions that can prove to be fatal
Since the first detection of the virus in Region Six in May, there have been reports of the virus reaching to several other Regions of the country. The Health Ministry, which has been relying on the Caribbean Public Health Agency in Trinidad to test random blood samples of persons suspected to have the virus, has confirmed just over 70 cases to date.
However, there are reports that hundreds of people across the country have been inflicted since the virus was first detected.
The Ministry has been appealing to residents to ensure that they take responsibility for their environment by keeping it clean and free of breeding sites for the transmitting vectors. This, according to the Ministry, can be attained by ridding the environment of tyres, containers and areas that hold water that can encourage the breeding of mosquitoes.

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