Hundreds of NEW Dengue Cases in TCI? Residents say “YES” but Ministry of Health is QUIET

Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicos, December 29, 2023 – Amid a drought of official information regarding the ongoing dengue outbreak, sources are reporting that cases are now in the hundreds.  Magnetic Media fielded several concerns from residents regarding the radio silence from the Ministry of Health and Human Services over the holidays.

“What about dengue? No update in the Magnate? No info on location tracking of those infected? Basic testing available – but often not reliable without blood work test. Number of cases could be much higher,” one resident expressed to our team.

The concern came a little over a week after the country experienced torrential rains in mid-December. The resulting flooding heightened the possibility of more infections as potential mosquito breeding sites increased exponentially.

“In light of the recent surge in Dengue fever cases and the concurrent increase in rainfall the Environmental Health Vector Control Unit is urging its residents to take immediate action to prevent mosquito breeding and protect public health,” the Ministry had warned in a November 15 press conference where an “outbreak” was also declared for the TCI.

But no information was shared on the current case count.

During the first and only update, over 80 suspected and confirmed cases were revealed. At the time the ministry had said it was bracing for even more cases.

Magnetic Media has reached out to Shaun Malcolm, Minister of Health and Human Services as well as other officials on separate occasions but we have received no response regarding the distribution of cases.

Residents are being urged to continue to be vigilant about destroying mosquito breeding sites, i.e. anything that can hold standing water in and around their yards and protecting themselves against bites.