Groundsmen at St. Mary Schools Being Trained to Destroy Mosquito Breeding Sites

Groundsmen at schools in St. Mary are being trained by the Health Department to aid in the Search and Destroy Initiative, which is geared at identifying and eliminating mosquito breeding sites.

According to Medical Officer of Health for the parish, Dr. Tamara Henry, with an outbreak of Dengue affecting Jamaica, children are most vulnerable to the illness and educational facilities need to be cleared of potential mosquito breeding sites.

“If we don’t have mosquitoes, we will have no Dengue. So once a week, we are asking persons to empty water storage containers and scrub those containers,” Dr. Henry said.

She was addressing the monthly meeting of the St. Mary Municipal Corporation on October 12.

In recent weeks, all parishes have recorded Dengue cases, with Kingston and St. Andrew, St. Thomas, St. Catherine, Portland and St. James recording the most confirmed cases.

The 5–14 year-old cohort continues to be the most affected, followed by persons 25 to 59 years old.

The public is reminded that the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which transmits Dengue, breeds in any containerised environment, that is, anything that can hold water.

Some of the common breeding sites are drums, tyres, buckets and animal feeding containers.

Dr. Henry said persons who have old tyres around their surroundings should use them to “plant trees, plant crops, utilise them for something productive, so that they don’t stay around and breed mosquitoes.”

“If you have [Dengue] symptoms that are in keeping with the warning signs, make your way to the nearest hospital. If a health centre is open, you can make your way there… don’t sit at home and try to watch it. If you don’t feel well, get care,” she urged.

Dr. Henry said persons with diabetes, hypertension and other chronic illnesses are at greater risk of contracting severe Dengue, noting “we saw that with COVID-19, and we know that with influenza.”

The Ministry of Health and Wellness is reminding the public that Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease that is usually a mild illness during which persons infected may get a fever, headache, joint and muscle pains.

Rest and adequate hydration are usually adequate to see persons through the period of illness.

The recommended treatment for the fever is acetaminophen/paracetamol.