Persons in Westmoreland Encouraged to Care for the Most Vulnerable

Medical Officer of Health for Westmoreland, Dr. Marcia Graham, is imploring persons in the parish to look out for the most vulnerable citizens, especially with the ongoing prevalence of dengue fever.

She was addressing the monthly meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation, which was held in Savanna-la-Mar, recently.

“There are those who are socially vulnerable and those who are medically vulnerable. The socially vulnerable tend to be in the older age group. If we have persons who live alone in our communities, let’s check in on them, so that if they are not well, we can assist them to get medical attention early, because they may not have family or friends who live close by to support them,” she said.

Dr. Graham noted that in doing this, it reduces the risk of these citizens presenting late for medical care for dengue and other illnesses.

The medical officer also highlighted that the medically vulnerable are persons with comorbidities, and those persons, particularly children, need to be supported.

She said that with the dengue outbreak, children under 15 with other ailments are at risk of having a bad outcome if they contract the virus and if they present late for care.

“Let us be on the lookout for these children. Once they have a fever, please bring them in so we can assess them and initiate care early,” she implored.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is responsible for the spread of the dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses.

Symptoms of dengue include sudden onset of high fever with severe headache, fatigue, pain behind the eyes, muscle, bone or joint pain, skin rash, swollen glands and vomiting or feeling nauseous.

Persons are encouraged to ensure that mosquito repellent used on skin and clothing contain DEET.

Citizens are also encouraged to keep their surroundings free of debris and destroy or treat other potential mosquito breeding sites.