The Ministry of Health has dispatched a team to Chinowieng in the Cuyuni/Mazaruni to determine what caused some residents there to fall ill.
Minister within the Ministry of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran told Stabroek News yesterday that the team headed by the Chief Environmental Health Officer, left for the remote Amerindian community on Saturday. Another doctor, a medex as well as technicians to do testing are part of the team. Ramsaran said that their stay in the community will depend on the situation. The minister was travelling in Essequibo when reached by Stabroek News and he said that he had received no initial report as yet.
Stabroek News first reported that several persons had fallen ill and Chinowieng residents expressed concern about the apparent pollution of a nearby river. Reports are that within the past two weeks, the residents of the community which is located south of Imbaimadai, observed dead fish floating in the nearby Haieka River. The river, which is a tributary of the Mazaruni River, is a hunting ground for villagers for fish, a staple in the communities there.
Stabroek News was told that persons began to experience various water-borne ailments, including diarrhoea and vomiting sometime last week after using water from the river and they have since lodged complaints with the village authorities on the issue.
A source at Bartica had said that miners who operate in the area had related to her earlier last week that the water along the Haieka River was being polluted by a mining operation. She said that the miners did not indicate to what extent the water was being polluted but she noted that persons living along the river had reported that the waterway was discoloured at certain sections.
Chinowieng is approximately one hour from the Haieka River by foot and several persons live along the river banks.
According to Laura George of the Amerindian People’s Association (APA), several worried residents contacted the body by radio recently as the frequency of dead fish floating in the water increased. She said that residents depend on the waterway for fish and she noted that they have been unable to determine the cause of the situation.
The levels of the waterway are usually high at this time of the year.
