Decline In Aedes Index For St. James

St. James has seen a further decline in its Aedes index, moving from nine per cent in late December to seven per cent as of January 2020.

This has resulted from extensive measures by the St. James Health Department to eliminate the Aedes aegypti mosquito as it continues to fight the dengue fever.

The lowering of the Aedes index means that the number of breeding sites found in relation to the number of premises inspected has declined.

Speaking at the monthly meeting of the St. James Municipal Corporation on Thursday (January 9), Assistant Chief Public Health Inspector for St. James, Nadia Burgess, said the Department continues to carry out morning and evening fogging activities across the parish.

Ms. Burgess further informed that 14 additional task workers have been trained under the Task Worker Programme, which restarted on January 2 and will run for 15 weeks until April 9. This will bring the total number of task workers to 94.

Meanwhile, Acting Medical Officer of Health for St James, Francine Phillips Kelly, informed the meeting that there has been one confirmed dengue fever-related death in the parish since the outbreak of the virus, and that some suspected cases of dengue-related deaths are being investigated.

Mrs. Phillips Kelly pointed out that the department has intensified vector-control activities in urbanised communities in the parish, noting that most suspected cases of the virus emerged from those areas.

These communities include Mount Salem, Catherine Hall and surrounding areas.

Mrs. Phillips Kelly said that the vehicles that were recently handed over by the Ministry of Health and Wellness have been beneficial to the daily fogging in these communities.