EDITORIAL: On the watch for dengue 

Householders must be encouraged to work together in and around their homes, to get rid of stagnant water, reduce and dispose of solid waste, and to ensure proper covering of all water storage containers, in order to eliminate prime breeding sites for mosquitoes. 

 

Why? Well it has been noted that notwithstanding the impact of the  COVID-19 pandemic, there is a crucial need to sustain efforts to address dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases. In fact, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), has cautioned Barbados and other Eastern Caribbean countries to  scale up efforts to prevent the occurrence of severe dengue fever outbreaks, even as they focus on continuously battling the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

Here in Barbados, we need to take progressive steps to ensure that we can keep our numbers down, where these mosquito-borne diseases are concerned. Indeed, we are having more rainfall of late and we are well aware that with the incoming rain, we will likely have a rise in the mosquito population, as the conditions in our environment become more conducive for them to thrive.

 

By now however, Barbadians should be aware of what is needed to reduce the likelihood of mosquitoes breeding on their premises. We have all heard countless times of the need to look for breeding sites in water drums, old tyres, discarded buckets and other containers such as vases, flower pots, bottles and so on. Once you have good domestic sanitation and you are aware how to prevent mosquitoes breeding, it can quite easily be done.

 

More can certainly be done by Barbadians on a whole to beef up their premises against an influx of mosquitoes and this starts by ensuring that mosquitoes do not get the chance to multiply. We can then take precaution against the dangerous Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in particular that surface, through the use of repellents, the wearing of light colored, long sleeved shirts and pants and also ensuring that rooms are fitted with screens to prevent mosquitoes from entering.

 

Meanwhile, we should take note of comments from Dr. Yitades Gebre, PAHO/WHO Representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries, who has noted that policies, strategies and plans for dealing with both COVID-19 and mosquito borne diseases such as dengue, should be given priority at this time.

 

Dr. Gebre stressed that a number of challenges could affect how dengue is dealt with, and primarily, there is a view that the health care services may place more focus on COVID-19, thus putting less of a focus on dengue fever, which may be seen as secondary. Also, due to the pandemic, there may be a fear of exposure to COVID and people may not come forward to the relevant facilities to have a medical consultation, thus affecting the containment measures for dengue fever.

 

Dr. Gebre however maintained that the early recognition of persons with dengue is the first step in preventing the progression of the severity of the disease. Thus, the capacity of health care workers to deliver that first level of care in the diagnosis and appropriate management of dengue, needs to be enhanced.  

 

Thus, whilst we are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we still have to pay attention to other diseases, in the interest of public health.

Barbados Advocate

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