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Vector Control Services in 2014

Dec 28, 2014 News

(From the desk of the Vector Control Director, Dr Reyaud Rahman)

The Vector Control Services of the Ministry of Health has put lots of effort into its malaria Control/Vector Control activities throughout Guyana. We have received great support from the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, regional administration (Regional Executive Officers, Regional Chairmen in all 10 administrative regions etc.), persons directly affected (miners, loggers etc.), and organizations like the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association, Food For The Poor, Geology and Mines Commission, Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force.
This has been a very challenging year for the Vector Control Services, especially with the outbreak of the Chikungunya virus (Chik V), a vector-borne disease that is new to Guyana. This meant that lots of resources had to be diverted to manage this dreaded disease. We however ensured that our malaria activities were never compromised or neglected. We continued to do routine as well as active case detection work in our endemic regions (1, 7, 8 and 9). We did so by distributing Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLIN’s), actively going to hinterland locations in search of persons infected with malaria, taking blood smears to determine a diagnosis and treating if necessary (using the highest possible quality tablets). We have also set up health committees and school clubs, conducted fogging and indoor residual spraying in affected communities and mining/logging camps.
We have had many challenges in 2014, however, we must say this has been an extremely successful year for vector control in Guyana. We have managed Chikungunya better than most Caribbean countries. Some countries openly came out saying that they had lost control of the disease and could not manage it, others requested advice and help from us, of which we gave as best as we could.
Some countries like Haiti had over 64,000 cases, Suriname had over 1,000 confirmed cases and we could only imagine the number of suspected cases they had. Over 250,000 cases have been reported in the Caribbean for this year.
Despite the gains we made, we can only continue to be successful if the support is maintained and possibly increased. We cannot do fogging or continue to visit and support hinterland locations if we do not have the tools to do so. With this said, I must report that we have made a very significant dent in our malaria cases. The figures for this year are not yet available for the public eye, as they must first be verified, etc. When these are published, the public at large will be able to make its own assessment.
We have bold plans to further decrease malaria and other vector-borne diseases, and we feel these are solid and will work; they are accepted by the World Health Organization and further endorsed by the Pan American Health Organization.
Let’s work together to build our beautiful country, if we do not work together our goals cannot be realized.

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