(By Ernesto Cooke) – As Dengue Fever continue to affect Caribbean and Latin American countries, St Vincent on Tuesday 19th January 2021, recorded another death from the mosquito-borne disease.’
Since the start of the rainy season in 2020, PAHO reported increased dengue activity above the seasonal threshold on the island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
On Tuesday the islands Health Ministry said the latest death is a (15) year old asthmatic female admitted to the hospital early in January 2021.
The female at the time of admission had acute dengue fever and a severe allergic drug reaction.
After remaining stable initially, Health officials said the teenager developed complications one (1) week ago, deteriorated and died on Tuesday.
One thousand, seven hundred and ninety (1790) laboratory-confirmed cases of dengue fever have been recorded in St Vincent since the Outbreak.
Eight (8) persons have died from complications of severe dengue fever during this current outbreak.
Dengue Fever is transmitted mainly by the bite of Aedes Aegypti mosquito. Dengue infection is also indirectly impacted by climate crisis due to the projected increases in temperature and humidity; and fluctuations in rainfall with seasons of heavy rainfall interrupted by long, dry spells.
Human activities also contribute significantly to the spread of dengue.
The storage of water in containers uncovered and/or incorrectly managed and the indiscriminate dumping of unwanted receptacles such as used tyres, empty bottles, etc. provide breeding sites for the mosquitoes.
Individuals and communities are asked to actively reduce the spread of dengue by accessing health care early, through the management of water storage containers and the cleaning up of their premises and disposal of unwanted containers.
Each year, an estimated 390 million dengue infections occur around the world. Of these, around 500,000 cases develop into severe dengue, or dengue haemorrhagic fever, a more severe form of the disease, which results in up to 25,000 deaths annually worldwide.
