Jamaica declares DENGUE OUTBREAK; control measures amped up

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#Jamaica, September 29, 2023 – As Jamaica battles a dengue outbreak, the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development is taking steps to fortify the country’s resilience to the mosquito borne disease.

The Department announced it will be providing funds for the emergency response to contain the dengue outbreak, according to Desmond McKenzie, Minister of Local Government, as reported by JIS.

McKenzie was in talks with Journalists at the Spanish Court Hotel in Kingston this past Wednesday, September 27th when he revealed that the resources will come from the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA).

In fact, work, he expressed, is already being done as he informed that discussions have started with Jamaica’s Minister of Health and Wellness to see to the roll out of clean-up programmes to ensure communities do not morph into breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

It was reported that: “International health authorities have reported elevated dengue fever activity across multiple areas in Jamaica, with more than 560 suspected cases (78 confirmed) reported Jan. 1-Sept. 22. This is compared to the 59 cases reported over a similar period in 2022. Majority of the confirmed cases were reported in Kingston, Saint Andrew, Saint Catherine, and Saint Thomas.  The Jamaican Ministry of Health & Wellness has deployed vector control workers across the island to high-risk communities.  This report represents the most complete data available as of Sept. 29.”

These clean up initiatives, the minister points out, will be in operation in the days to come and they will commence in areas identified by the Ministry of Health; the plan is to later extend the efforts other communities.

In continuation, Audley Gordon, Executive Director of the NSWMA, spoke of vulnerable areas which he termed the “problematic sites”, informing that they are scheduled for action, including the removal of bulky waste by his teams, adding that the “NSWMA is fully ready to play its part in what we are asked to do, starting this weekend”.

Not only will the programmes clean the respective areas, they will call community members to practice proper garbage disposal, as people often fail to acknowledge the importance of these hygienic habits.