By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicos, June 5, 2023 – The Turks and Caicos has recorded its first case of cholera.  The update came from the Ministry of Health and Human Services on Monday June 5th.

The positive result came from a stool sample sent from the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre.

The case appears to be an imported one as the individual had recently travelled to Haiti which is struggling to deal with a major outbreak of the disease.

Beset with vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration, the person was tested for the viral illness.

Cholera is spread through contact with the feces of an infected person.  This can occur when sewage isn’t treated properly and comes in contact with drinking water, or where sources of water are not properly treated.  Drinking or eating food prepared with contaminated water can cause the disease to spread.

The US National Library of Medicine says If left untreated, cholera has a 25-50% mortality rate.  Treatment reduces this dramatically to less than 1%.

Minister of Immigration Arlington Musgrove had told Magnetic Media that the Department of Immigration had implemented a new system to check for cholera infections which had also been in use for any irregular migrants from Haiti.

The National Security Council, NSC had also instructed the Ministry of Health to secure a cache of cholera vaccines for the country’s protection should they become necessary.

Shaun Malcolm, Minister of Health and Human Services today said, “The TCI’s National Cholera Preparedness and Response Plan was updated with stakeholder involvement in 2022 and a number of training sessions were undertaken for frontline workers on Infection Prevention.”

There was no mention, however, of whether the Turks and Caicos Islands was able to secure the vaccines recommended for stockpiling by the NSC.

What was asked of residents is that they “seek medical treatment immediately if they suspect they or their family members are infected.”

The patient is now in stable condition and responding to treatment, informed the Health notice.

The government has sent the sample off to the Caribbean Public Health Agency, CARPHA to determine which strain of the virus is present.

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. 1 June 2023. The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) joins the Caribbean Association of Nutritionists and Dietitians (CANDi) and countries in the Caribbean region in commemorating Caribbean Nutrition Day (1 June) and Caribbean Nutrition Awareness Month (June) 2023.

Caribbean Nutrition Day and Awareness Month are annual regional nutrition education and information campaigns that aim to promote healthy eating and active living in populations using a promotion-based approach. To kick-start the month, Caribbean Nutrition Day will be observed under the theme: “Let’s Nourish to Flourish…Your Mental Health Matters.” It was first celebrated on 1 June 2004 and became a month-long observance in response to the growing recognition of nutrition in disease prevention and health promotion.  Caribbean Nutrition Awareness Month provides an opportunity to promote and encourage health seeking behaviours on a range of topics and across multiple sections of the population.

“CARPHA has planned a series of activities to commemorate these campaigns, and to raise awareness of the importance of nutrition. This includes the launch of a Diabetes Nutritional Management Toolkit.  A social media campaign will also be rolled out to engage the public on nutrition and mental health and nutritional management of NCDs in the region,” said Dr. Joy St. John, Executive Director at CARPHA.

The observance of Caribbean Nutrition Day originated from the former Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI); one of five institutions subsumed under the Caribbean Public Health Agency.

 Events scheduled include:

0. Fifth Meeting of the CARPHA Six Point Policy Package (6-PPP) Inter-Agency Technical Committee (ITC) on Monday 12 June 2023.

The 6-point policy package is a framework instituted in 2017 to promote healthier food environments and food security to address childhood obesity (and non-communicable diseases) through joint policy action. The 6-PPP includes policy recommendations to address: (1) Food Labelling; (2) Nutrition Standards and Guidelines for Schools and other Institutions; (3) Food Marketing; (4) Nutritional Quality of Food Supply; (5) Trade and Fiscal Policies; and (6) Food Chain Incentives. The ITC comprises of CARICOM institutions and other agencies with responsibility for economic and social sectors to collectively monitor and coordinate the implementation of the 6-PPP.

• Webinar to launch the Diabetes Nutritional Management Toolkit on Tuesday 13 June 2023.

The toolkit – comprising of booklets, posters, flyer and recipes for both the health care professional and person with diabetes – will standardise the nutritional management of diabetes in primary care in the Caribbean. The toolkit was developed in 2022 following a Rapid Needs Assessment of Nutrition Services in primary health care in a representative 10 Member States. This initiative was funded by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) through the CARPHA-led project “Strengthening Strategic Intelligence and Partnership Approaches to Prevent and Control NCDs and Strengthen Regional Health Security in the Caribbean”.

Click here to register in advance for this Webinar

CARPHA will also disseminate an article “Nutrition for Good Mental Health”.  The article will highlight the essential role nutrition (nutrients) play in the functioning of the nervous system and key elements of the diet to ensure good mental health.

We encourage persons to follow CARPHA’s social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram – for updates and pertinent information on nutrition for good mental health and NCDs management.

CARPHA will also be supporting its Member States in their celebration of Caribbean Nutrition Day and Awareness Month.

May 30, 2023 – The delegates at the Seventy-sixth World Health Assembly adopted the resolution on accelerating efforts to prevent micronutrient deficiencies through safe and effective food fortification. The resolution urges Member States to make decisions on food fortification with micronutrients and/or supplementation and to consider ways of strengthening financing and monitoring mechanisms.

Deficiencies in vitamin and mineral status, particularly of folate, iron, vitamin A, and zinc, affect 50% of all preschool aged children and 67% of all women of reproductive age (WRA) worldwide. Micronutrient deficiencies can have serious consequences, including spina bifida and other neural tube defects. These preventable deficiencies are also associated with a higher risk of blindness, fragile immune systems, diminished  exercise and physical capacity. Mothers with low micronutrient can have babies prematurely or with low birth weight. Iodine deficiency, still prevalent in many countries, impairs brain development in children, undermining their ability to learn and their eventual productivity.

Large scale food fortification (LSFF) is part of the solution. By adding essential vitamins and minerals to staple foods and condiments, such as wheat and maize flours, rice, cooking oil, and salt in accordance with national consumption patterns and deficiencies, countries can correct and further prevent a demonstrated micronutrient deficiency.

Fortification is an evidence-informed intervention that contributes to the prevention, reduction and control of micronutrient deficiencies. It can be used to correct a demonstrated micronutrient deficiency in the general population (mass or large-scale fortification) or in specific population groups (targeted fortification) such as children, pregnant women and the beneficiaries of social protection programmes.

WHO has been working in food fortification for decades and collaborates with different networks for fortification at the regional, country and community levels. WHO recommends large scale food fortification as a powerful evidence-informed and cost-effective intervention to fight the consequences of vitamin and mineral deficiencies, including iodine deficiency disorders, anaemia and iron deficiency, and neural tube defects among others.

The resolution was put forward by Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, European Union and its 27 Member States, Israel, Malaysia and Paraguay.

The resolution received a wide support from the civil society, with over 50 organizations calling on WHO to accelerate efforts on micronutrient fortification of food through a jointly signed letter. The organizations underlined in their letter that micronutrient deficiency is a crisis that affects all communities globally, low-income or high-income, and that there is still a large unfinished agenda on food fortification, calling on WHO to double the efforts to improve the reach and quality of food fortification programs, which have big potential to combat these preventable deficiencies and protect health.

The resolution was adopted under the umbrella of the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025) report. The Nutrition Decade aims to accelerate the implementation of the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) commitments, achieve the global nutrition and diet-related noncommunicable disease (NCD) targets by 2025, and contribute to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Reflection on global progress and challenges encountered and on a way forward after the ending of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016 – 2025) is encouraged.