The National Emergency Response Geographic Information System Team (NERGIST) is providing critical support in the country’s coronavirus (COVID-19) response. The team of geographic information systems (GIS)-certified professionals does spatial mapping of information about the virus based on statistics provided by the Ministry of Health and Wellness. These include data on new cases, types of cases, case distribution, deaths and recoveries,...

Medical Entomologist and National Programme Manager, Vector Control, in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Sherine Huntley Jones, is encouraging householders to remain vigilant in the fight against dengue, even as the country continues to deal with the coronavirus (COVID-19). In an interview with JIS News, she explained that although much of the focus is currently on preventing the spread...

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has acquired an additional 60 vehicles for the National Vector Control Management Programme, at a cost of approximately $400 million, to assist in further controlling mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue. Ten of the vehicles are already out in the field. Documents for the other 50 vehicles were handed over to the Directors of the...

Kedine Matthews Smith, the mother of a baby boy who recently contracted dengue fever, is warning other parents to take the disease seriously. The St. James resident told JIS News that it was in late September of last year that her then six-month-old son, Jonathan, was diagnosed with dengue and had to be admitted to the Cornwall Regional Hospital. Her...

Health Promotion and Education Officer at the Westmoreland Health Department, Gerald Miller, says citizens must remain vigilant throughout the holiday season to prevent dengue fever and leptospirosis. In an interview with JIS News, Mr. Miller said that persons must bear in mind that there is still a dengue outbreak, and “they should use mosquito repellants that contain DEET, check for...

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says some 6,000 notices have been served on persons failing to destroy mosquito breeding sites on their properties. He made the disclosure during a press briefing held at the Ministry’s New Kingston’s offices on Thursday (November 28). “We have stepped up where moral suasion has not worked. The law does...

Several key stakeholders from Montego Bay and its environs attended the St. James Public Health Services Vector Control Symposium, which was held at the RIU Montego Bay Resort recently. The event was coordinated in partnership with the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF). Executive Director of the TEF, Dr. Carey Wallace, told stakeholders that the organisation has had a long-standing partnership with...

Medical Officer of Health for St. James, Dr. Marcia Johnson-Campbell, is encouraging persons to be aware of the symptoms of dengue fever and seek medical treatment immediately if any is experienced. “If persons have persistent fever, persistent vomiting, and persistent abdominal pain, or if there is any bleeding, [these are] the warning signs suggesting that the disease is taking a...

The St. James Public Health Services has intensified its public education campaign to sensitise residents about the need to take personal responsibility in the fight against dengue. Parish Health, Promotion and Education Officer, Julian Grandison Mullings, says a number of people have been turning up at health centres with symptoms of dengue, and urges individuals to take the necessary precaution...

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says the Ministry will be embarking on an all-island tour to sensitise residents about the importance of implementing good vector control measures in the fight against dengue. Following a tour of sections of Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth on September 13, Dr. Tufton told JIS News that the battle can only...

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says the dengue epidemic is not just unique to Jamaica but is a global and regional problem. In an interview with JIS News following a vector control programme tour of sections of Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth on September 13, Dr. Tufton said that in Latin America and the Caribbean, there...

Vector Control Officer at the Hanover Health Department, Edward Cunningham, says citizens need to adjust their behaviour to prevent diseases spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Speaking to JIS News after the department’s dengue awareness marches on Friday (August 16) in Lucea, Mr. Cunningham said the marches were aimed at fostering behavioural change among the citizenry of Hanover, as it...