Special consideration must be given to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and their circumstances, including high debt burdens and small size, which compromise their capacity to respond effectively, without support, to a pandemic. Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, made the call while addressing the opening of the 75th Session of the Regional Committee of the...

As part of efforts to rid communities of mosquito breeding sites, the Ministry of Health and Wellness has dispatched its vector-control teams to several high-risk areas across the island. Medical Entomologist and National Programme Manager for Vector Control in the Ministry, Sherine Huntley Jones, told JIS News that the teams are tasked with identifying and eliminating the breeding grounds for...

The Government has intensified efforts to make schools safe from the dengue virus with supplies of drum covers, weekend fogging, and removal of bulky waste. Medical Entomologist and National Programme Manager, Vector Control, in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Sherine Huntley Jones, said the age group five to 14 is mostly affected by the dengue outbreak, and along with...

The St. James Municipal Corporation has donated five fogging machines to the St. James Public Health Department, which will be used in mosquito eradication activities in communities across the parish. The machines, which were acquired at a cost of approximately $1.5 million, were handed over during a ceremony held at the Corporation’s chambers in Montego Bay on Monday (September 25)....

There was a 6.7 per cent decrease in the number of complaints received at public health facilities in the first quarter of the current financial year as noted by the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ Complaints Management System (CMS). During a recent quarterly press briefing, Portfolio Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, indicated that comparative to quarter one last financial...

Vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and children, as well as front-line healthcare workers are being encouraged to get the influenza vaccine. The influenza season normally starts in October. The flu is an acute viral infection that spreads easily from person to person, mainly by coughing, sneezing and through close contact. Speaking on the JIS Television Programme, ‘Get the Facts’,...

As the Ministry of Health and Wellness heightens measures to contain the outbreak of dengue on the island, there is a call for householders to accommodate vector control workers.  Public Health Officer at the St. Catherine Health Department, Judith Brown, said that the work of the vector control teams is crucial in ridding communities of breeding sites for the Aedes...