Over 100 Patentia residents have visited the West Demerara Regional Hospital within the last month with symptoms of the chikungunya virus.
This is according to a hospital source, who said many people within the community have visited the hospital for treatment and most of them showed signs of the mosquito-borne virus.
When Stabroek News visited Patentia yesterday, a few residents stated that many of the households in the area have contracted the viral disease. “This thing spreading and a lot of people coming down with it. Two weeks ago, my father had it and now everyone in the house has it,” a man named Vishnu said.
He said other families in the neighbourhood were complaining about the “outbreak” since most of them were directly affected.
Another resident, who contracted chikungunya, said the pains were so severe every old injury in his body “started to hurt” again. He said a few days ago, he started feeling the pain in his arms but brushed it off as the flu. However, the next day he woke up with a hot fever and more pain. “My muscles and the knees de paining really bad. I couldn’t put pressure on it or else the pain would rip up my body like fire,” he said. He added that his wife also contracted the virus.
“A lot of people going to the West hospital and those who can afford it going to Woodlands to get the injections. But some people really poor here and it aint easy to lef your work to ketch bus every other day to go the hospital,” he said. “If this thing keep spreading, all ah we won’t get work,” he added.
PAHO Country Representative Dr. William Adu-Krow has said Guyana had 81 confirmed cases of the virus and a case load of 500 probable cases.
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. It is 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 arthritis after the symptoms subside.
Citizens have been advised to use insect repellents and wear long sleeved shirts and long pants to avoid bites from mosquitoes. They have also been advised to sleep under mosquito nets and keep their surroundings clean so as to prevent the vector from breeding.
The Georgetown Public Hospital Outpatient Department and Campbellville and Industry health centres have recently extended their working hours in response to the high number of suspected chikungunya cases flooding the hospital’s emergency unit at nights.
The outpatient department will be opened every day from 8am to 8pm while the Campbellville and Industry health centres will be opened Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm, Saturdays from 8am to 4pm and Sundays from 8am to 12pm. The new working hours became effective on Thursday.
