St. Mary Health Dept. on anti-cholera campaign

The St. Mary Health Department is in the process of aggressively implementing a number of measures, aimed at boosting the anti-cholera drive in the parish.
In an interview with JIS News, Medical Officer of Health for St. Mary, Dr. San San Win, said the measures include a public education drive to sensitise the residents of the parish about the preventive initiatives to be taken against the disease; the close monitoring of communities to ensure that conditions conducive to its proliferation are eliminated; and working closely with community groups to incorporate the support and participation of as much persons as possible in the campaign to prevent its spread.
The new anti-cholera drive across the island is in response to the outbreak of the disease in Haiti, which has claimed many lives.
Dr. Win said special focus is being placed on fishing villages and coastal communities of the parish, as these areas are easy points of entry for foreigners, adding that fishermen in the parish are also being specially trained to identify strange persons in their area in order for them to be properly screened and tested for the disease.
She added that the St. Mary Health Department is also closely examining the utilisation of pit latrines in various communities, to ensure that they do not compromise the effectiveness of the anti-cholera campaign in the parish.
Emphasising the fact that cholera is a dangerous disease, which can be fatal if not treated properly, she appealed to the people of St. Mary to play their part in the drive to keep the epidemic out of the parish, adding that adherence to good hygiene and the maintenance of clean surroundings are the best ways of preventing its spread.