In the light of quickly increasing cases of Chikungunya within the region, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) is ramping up its efforts in dealing with the epidemic.
The community will also be formalising recommendations to deal with any possible outbreaks of the Ebola virus.
This is according to a release from Caricom, which further said that chief medical officers and other technical health experts from member states recently met via video conference to rationalise the region’s response to the two diseases. The meeting was in collaboration with the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA).
Discussions focused on the adherence to a number of World Health Organisation (WHO) regulations as well as the need for a calm but prudent response with regard to the Ebola virus. The urgent need to put in place isolation facilities and resources to permit barrier management of suspected or affected cases of Ebola was also discussed at the meeting.
Meanwhile, Director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) Dr Carissa Etienne has assured that, despite the significant illness and disability caused by the Chikungunya virus, there has been a very low death rate.
Etienne further said the virus has had significant effects on productivity and the social and economic lives of affected communities.
Hence, she said, it was critical for response efforts to be concentrated on vector reduction not only by governments but also by householders.
As regards Ebola, Etienne noted the outbreak of the virus in several countries including Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. These outbreaks, she said, have been contained.
According to the PAHO director, the Ebola outbreak was upgraded to a United Nations (UN) Humanitarian Crisis and is being viewed not only as a health problem but also food security and human security issues.
Etienne believes that, if the virus were to hit the Americas, the first case would come either by airport or sea port. Hence, she said, officials are working assiduously to set up high surveillance to identify and isolate the first case.
Guyana has documented 81 confirmed cases of the Chikungunya virus with the possibility of 500 unconfirmed cases.
There have not been any reports of the Ebola virus in the country.
