The Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) Outpatient Department and two health centres falling under the supervision of the hospital have increased working hours to respond to the number of suspected chikungunya cases thronging the hospital’s emergency unit at night.
The GPH outpatient department will be open every day from 8 am to 8 pm, while the Campbellville and Industry health centres will be open Monday to Friday from 8 am to 8 pm, Saturdays from 8 am to 4 pm, and Sundays from 8am to 12pm. The new working hours became effective yesterday.
Chief Executive Officer of the hospital Michael Khan said it was the hospital’s response to people “flooding the emergency unit in the nights.” He said the two health centres, which fall under the hospital’s management, were also selected because of the large population that they serve.
The Campbellville Health Centre provides service to a population of some 9,000 while the Industry Health Centre serves over six villages.
There have been reports that Guyana may have up to 1,000 cases of the mosquito-borne disease, although less than 100 cases have been officially confirmed so far. The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), to which Guyana sends samples for testing, has recorded nearly 10,972 confirmed cases of chikungunya with 1,433 cases from 20 CARPHA member states and 9,539 cases from 11 other territories.
Chikungunya causes acute joint pains, muscle pains, high fever, headaches and rashes. The disease is much similar to dengue fever and usually surfaces between four to seven days after a bite from an infected mosquito. It lasts for three to 10 days. Patients are said to be left with chronic pain after the symptoms subside. There is no cure for chikungunya.
Citizens have been advised to use insect repellents and wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants to avoid being bitten. They have also been advised to sleep under mosquito nets and keep their surroundings clean so as to prevent the vector from breeding.
