Georgetown: As the Chikungunya epidemic continues to ravage Guyana and the Caribbean, the Health Ministry’s Vector Control Department is intensifying efforts to combat the disease.
The Department is set to conduct several fogging exercises in different parts of Georgetown commencing today. The areas identified for fogging are Kingston, Cummingsburg, Lacytown, Bourda, Alberttown, Queenstown, Bel Air Park, Lamaha Gardens, Newtown, Campbellville, Kitty, Subryanville, Bel Air Gardens, Prashad Nagar, Bel Air, and Bel Air Springs.
These fogging exercises will be undertaken to terminate the adult mosquitoes which carry mosquito- borne diseases and will commence at 17:30h daily in the following areas and will be completed on Friday, September 5.
A release from the Ministry said that “to ensure that the fogging exercise is most effective, residents in the targeted communities are reminded to open their windows to allow the fog mist into the buildings to kill the adult mosquitoes”.
Residents are also being asked to cover all drinking water and secure all food, both raw and cooked, to prevent possible contamination.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Shamdeo Persaud recently confirmed that Guyana has recorded a total of 76 cases of the Chikungunya disease from approximately 250 samples that were sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Trinidad and Tobago.
The disease is not associated with a high fatality rate, as overall, there have been only three Chikungunya-related deaths recorded in the Caribbean.
The CMO said that based on reports coming from health facilities across the country, there are 580 suspected cases. However, there may be milder forms of the disease in some areas. Some of the samples sent to CARPHA are still to be tested (the laboratory conducts testing for other Caribbean countries as well). While the prevalence of Chikungunya has been more pronounced in Regions Six and Five and to some extent, Region Four, there have been three reported cases in Region 10, but these are associated with travelling, not active transmission.
Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease transmitted by the Aedes aegyptimosquito, which is also known to spread viruses such as dengue and yellow fever.
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