According to Monday’s statement from Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony, six children passed away in the past few weeks after contracting dengue. At the Georgetown (Public) Hospital, six children have passed away since we first noticed the outbreak here.
On the margins of an event in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), Dr. Anthony told the press, “It’s something that we have to treat very seriously.” He verified on Sunday that two dengue-infected infants who were undergoing care in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Georgetown hospital had died.
Dr. Anthony could not immediately state how many adults also passed away after being infected with dengue in recent weeks but he highlighted that the Americas have seen a surge in dengue cases over the past several weeks.
Guyana has not been spared; the country recorded more than 3,500 cases for the year so far with at least 2,169 cases still active based on statistics the media obtained on Friday. Because of the surge in dengue cases, Dr. Anthony said fogging exercises are being done across the country. He also noted that “literally thousands” of testing kits were distributed to regional health authorities.
“We’ve improved the diagnostics which has allowed us to monitor what’s going on. “The regions have to report on all cases so that we can see a picture of what’s happening in the country (but) I think now it’s on the decline,” Dr. Anthony said.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease and its symptoms include high fevers, head and body aches and nausea. The World Health Organization (WHO) said these increased infections are, in part, linked to global warming. Increased temperatures are said to be conducive for the breeding of the Aedes aegypti mosquito which spreads the disease and thrives in stagnant water.
