The Ministry of Health is implementing several measures this year aimed at strengthening the national vector management programme. This is to minimise the risk of a potential onset or recurrence of vector-borne diseases, such as dengue fever, malaria, chikungunya, Zika and the mayaro virus, by reducing the mosquito population, particularly the Aedes aegypti, which are the primary transmitters. Portfolio Minister,...

The country’s vector management programme has been strengthened with the opening of the Mosquito Control and Research Unit (MCRU) Insectary at the University of West Indies (UWI) Mona campus in St. Andrew. A joint initiative of the Ministry of Health and UWI through support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the facility will provide for entomological study...

The Ministry of Health will be providing three research grants of up to $1.5 million each for tertiary students pursuing studies in specific areas. The grants are available to postgraduate students of the Northern Caribbean University; University of Technology; and the University of the West Indies, Mona, who propose to undertake studies related to the top-10 health priority areas of...

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says countries can no longer ignore the imminent threat of pandemics, as world tourism could face a myriad of global challenges in the event of such occurrences. Addressing an International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank forum on the ‘Tourism Industry and Pandemics’, at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C., on October 13, Mr. Bartlett...

Jamaica’s programme to eradicate the aedes egypti mosquito, which is the primary vector for the Zika virus, has been given a boost through a US$250,000 provision under the Caribbean Zika Response and Preparedness Project. The 16-month undertaking is being implemented by the Jamaica Red Cross through funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Under the initiative, communities...

The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), on Tuesday (April 11), distributed mosquito nets and lids for water storage containers to residents of West Kingston. The intervention, under the agency’s $3-million SUPER 18 Zik-V Project, aims to minimise exposure to the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is responsible for spreading diseases such as the chikungunya and Zika viruses and dengue fever. A...

Health Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, has underscored the importance of screening at Jamaica’s ports of entry to safeguard the country against the re-emergence of vector-borne diseases, such as chikungunya, malaria, Zika, dengue and yellow fever. He pointed out that the onset of many of these diseases often results from persons becoming infected while on visits to high-risk countries...

Health Minister, Dr. the Hon Christopher Tufton, says Jamaica has the capacity to assist other Caribbean countries in developing effective mosquito control programmes. He noted that the country has the benefit of the intellectual resources of the Ministry and other stakeholders, such as the University of the West Indies (UWI), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and Jamaica Red Cross, among...

The Ministry of Health and the University of the West Indies (UWI) have partnered to establish a Mosquito Control and Research Unit at the tertiary institution’s Mona Campus in St. Andrew. The Unit will be responsible for coordinating best practices in integrated vector management and research into mosquito control and eradication. An entomologist, who will head the unit, will coordinate...

The Government has allocated $10.13 million to strengthen the national surveillance, prevention and control of infectious diseases project. Details are provided in the 2017-18 Estimates of Expenditure now before the House of Representatives. The objective of the project is to strengthen Jamaica’s response to the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and preparation for the threat of the Ebola virus disease (EVD). Specifically,...

Local Government Ministry Rolls Out Tax Collection Units, National Public Health Lab Gets New Equipment to Test for Zika and Chikungunya and JIPO to Host Entrepreneurial Workshops.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO), on Friday (February 10), presented a new Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine to the National Public Health Laboratory in Kingston. The equipment, valued approximately $6.4 million (US$50,000), will boost the lab’s capability to test for the Zika and Chikungunya viruses by enabling it to better analyse blood samples. The...