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  • 1 year ago
Even as Trinidad and Tobago is facing a dengue dilemma, the Caribbean Public Health Agency is putting T&T and the region on notice to be on the lookout for cases of Zika and Chikungunya. Rynessa Cutting has more.

Transcript
00:00We're seeing resurgence of both more particularly outside of the Caribbean
00:04region and we just re-emphasize the point that as we address one issue for
00:10example we're addressing dengue now which seems to be the immediate threat
00:13that we also remember that as we address that we're addressing all the others
00:17chikungunya, zika at least from a vector control perspective. It's yet another
00:22incentive to keep your surroundings free of mosquito breeding sites. Even as
00:27Trinidad and Tobago and the region is grappling with dengue outbreaks the
00:32Caribbean Public Health Agency is putting everyone on notice for cases of
00:36chikungunya and zika. 80% of the cases are either mildly symptomatic or
00:42asymptomatic meaning that if you're looking for a particular thing to say
00:46well I may have it often it is missed and because it is difficult to stop
00:52transmission so as we know it it's not an immediate issue but we do assess that
00:59it could be a real threat understanding that the immunity is waning and on the
01:04point of chikungunya likewise in other regions we've been noting that you've
01:09had spikes of cases of chikungunya and for the reason I say that we should
01:15really be looking at integrated approaches to address the vector because
01:19in the Caribbean is basically the same mosquito or mosquitoes that would be
01:22spreading these diseases. Meantime our local Ministry of Health is reporting
01:26just over 500 cases and five confirmed deaths as a result of the dengue virus.
01:32CAFA confirms the entire Latin America and Caribbean region is confronting the
01:38same issue. A 200 fold increase in suspected cases not confirmed of course
01:44we've seen spikes in confirmed cases as well as well as hospitalizations so so
01:49the way I put it is that once you have more confirmed cases you'll find all the
01:54other things happening as well you'll find more persons progressing to stages
01:58of complication meaning that they you have more cases of hospitalizations as
02:03well as deaths unfortunately. And while the health minister stated that the current
02:07dengue situation will not be declared a public health emergency as it does not
02:12meet the international criteria for such, CAFA says this decision is left up
02:17to individual states. From a regional perspective we cannot impose on the
02:23declaration and of course what we do know is that that declaration is informed
02:28by protocols and guidelines that are established at the national level and
02:32we're well aware that those guidelines exist and we've been following closely
02:36across the region what's been happening and as far as I can see those guidelines
02:42are being adhered to. CAFA did not provide statistics on any of the viruses.
02:47Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
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