The West Demerara Regional Hospital saw over 50 patients yesterday morning with symptoms of the mosquito-borne virus chikungunya.
A reliable source at the hospital said out of 90 patients seen yesterday morning at the hospital’s outpatient department, 60 of them showed signs of having chikungunya.
The source said the hospital has seen an increase in the number of suspected cases in the last month although “some people, once they get a slight pain, they say, ‘Doc, it’s chikungunya.’” Yet, the source noted that the hospital has seen some extreme probable cases in the last few weeks.
“Some people would come in and their whole body would be covered with rash… we had times when people come in and their fingers are swollen so terribly they can’t even flex their knuckles,” the source said.
Yesterday, the source stated a woman went to the hospital with swollen joints and an extremely high fever but refused to be told that she might have contracted the virus. The virus has, in particular, affected many families at Patentia, West Bank Demerara.
The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), to which Guyana sends samples for testing, has confirmed 76 cases of the virus here, although Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) Country Representative Dr William Ado-Krow said Guyana has 81 confirmed cases and a case load of 500 probable cases.
In its latest weekly update, CARPHA has said that the number of countries/territories reporting cases of chikungunya continues to increase. To date, 11,843 confirmed/probable cases of chikungunya have been reported with 1,794 cases from 21 CARPHA member states and 10,049 cases from 11 other countries/territories, it added.
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. The symptoms are reported to last for three to 10 days and infected persons are said to be left with chronic pain after the symptoms disintegrates.
Members of the public have been advised to use insect repellents and wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants. 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 increased their working hours as a response mechanism to the number of suspected chikungunya cases flooding the hospital’s emergency unit at nights.
The outpatient department is now open every day from 8 am to 8 pm while the Campbellville and Industry health centres are open Monday to Friday from 8 am to 8 pm, Saturdays from 8 am to 4 pm and Sundays from 8 am to 12 pm. The new working hours became effective last week Thursday.
