Health Minister Tours Communities in Clarendon

Health Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, and a touring party visited homes in several Clarendon communities recently, to identify mosquito breeding sites for eradication.

Dr. Tufton was visiting the communities as he continued his all-island tour to gauge the readiness of the regional health authorities to eradicate the dengue carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito.

The areas visited included Gratton Avenue, Treadlight and Commons. Members of the Clarendon Health Department’s vector control team also treated water in drums and other containers in the homes visited.

Dr. Tufton told homeowners how to keep their surroundings mosquito free, while the team of public health personnel handed out information pamphlets.

The Minister also received an update on the vector control activities taking place in the parish, and the number of permanent and temporary workers available.

“Clarendon is not as badly affected. In 2017, we had just over 50 suspected, presumed or confirmed cases of dengue; in 2018, we had 81 cases, which is an increase. Every increase is concerning, but not as much as some other parishes,” Dr. Tufton said.

“In light of the outbreak and the need to not get worse progressively, we have reviewed some of the strategies. We will be adding more workers, [and] logistic support, such as vehicles and fogging machines, to increase the visibility in key areas such as town centres and vulnerable communities,” the Minister said.

Meanwhile, Medical Officer of Health for Clarendon, Dr. Kimberly Scarlett-Campbell, said that the Clarendon Health Department is doing well with limited resources, having seen only 14 suspected cases of dengue to date.

“We will be recruiting more temporary vector-control workers to boost what we have. We have 44 temporary and eight permanent workers now, but 20 more will be added to the team. We will be getting more fogging machines and going into each health district and working where there is high Aedes indices, and we will be more prominent and visible in the town centres. We will increase home visits where this domesticated mosquito is more likely to be,” she said.

Teams from the Health Department are to collaborate with the Social Development Commission’s wide network of persons to visit schools and heavily populated communities to spread the message of how to get rid of mosquito breeding sites.