Toshao of Moruka, Joseph De Souza yesterday confirmed that there had been two more deaths in Moruka from a gastro-like affliction bringing the toll to at least six while a number of persons have fallen sick even as a health team from Georgetown investigates.
Region One Chairman, Fermin Singh told Stabroek News yesterday that he was unaware of any reports of the two recent fatalities. He said a team of officials from the Health Ministry is currently monitoring the situation, noting that the health officials were in the area over the weekend.
Stabroek News was informed by De Souza yesterday that a 10-month-old boy, Troydon Thornhill of Kamwatta village, located in the Moruka sub-region and pensioner Albert De La Cruz of Santa Rosa, Moruka, both died on Monday evening. According to a resident in the area, De La Cruz died at his home following a bout of diarrhoea and vomiting which he had been experiencing since last week. Thornhill also died at home after his parents complained of their son vomiting extensively a few hours prior to his death. It is unclear whether the two received any treatment from the Kumaka District Hospital.
Repeated attempts by Stabroek News to contact Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy and Minister in the Minister of Health Bheri Ramsaran for comment on the situation failed.
De Souza and his deputy, Genevieve Ruffino told this newspaper yesterday that the other two deaths have deepened concerns of residents in the region. There were also reports of two other deaths in the region since the first four were reported but Stabroek News was unable to confirm this. Ruffino, with concern in her voice, said that a team from the Ministry of Health had visited the area on Saturday but did not venture into certain areas where persons had complained of suffering from the illness. She said she had received complaints from Kenrick Charlie, whose brother and mother had passed away last week, about the team being told by a health worker in the area that the man’s family lives “too far away” from the Kumaka District Hospital. Ruffino said this explanation was given as the reason why the team was unable to visit the man and his relatives at the village of Kabura.
Charlie told this newspaper yesterday that the entire string of events, including the death of his 32-year-old brother Calvin Charlie two Mondays ago and his 63-year-old mother Helena Charlie last Tuesday, have left him feeling frustrated. The man said that his village is accessible by road and was at a loss as to why the Ministry of Health’s team, which included Minister within that ministry Dr Ramsaran, did not visit his village which he said is located some two miles away from the Kumaka District Hospital. He said a few of his children as well as the children of his now dead brother have been experiencing diarrhoea which is followed by bouts of vomiting.
Kabura, Kamwatta, Kumaka and Paloma are all villages located within the Santa Rosa area.
An official at the Region One administrative office at Mabaruma told Stabroek News last evening that the patients experiencing the symptoms have only been visiting the hospitals in the region whenever the cases become serious. The official said that there have been similar cases over the past few months which were treated by medical officials in the region.
On July 2, Stabroek News had reported on the deaths of the two Charlies. Two other persons from Port Kaituma were also said to have died after displaying the same symptoms but their names were not available.
At that time, Vice-Chairman of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) of Port Kaituma Richard Allen had told Stabroek News that15 people were admitted to the hospital in that area all suffering from dehydration due to the vomiting and diarrhoea but by last weekend all were discharged. He said as far as he knows one man died at home after several days of attempting to treat himself while another man died in Georgetown.
He confirmed that many persons were suffering from the same illness. He said while the medex feels that it has to do with the sanitary conditions where the persons live, no tests have been done to confirm this.
Allen said also that people are waiting until they almost can’t walk before going to the hospital and he pointed out that this is a dangerous practice. He called for the Health Ministry to do the necessary tests in order to ascertain what is causing the illness. A health team was subsequently sent in.
Moruca resident Robin De Souza, who said he was ill for almost five days with the same complaint, said that there is need for the ministry to do something before it is too late.
“I feel that older people wouldn’t be able to survive this because your body really getting weak,” he said.
The country recently confirmed two cases of the HINI flu. Some of the symptoms experienced by victims in the northwest are similar to those manifested by the HINI though most people believe the affliction is likely gastroenteritis or the Rotavirus. There is also a lot of movement of residents between the north west and Venezuela. As of July 6 Venezuela had reported 222 cases of the H1N1 flu.
