As Guyana continues to take all possible preventative measures against H1N1 and the Zika virus, Chief Medical Officer Dr Shamdeo Persaud yesterday announced that 10,000 doses of H1N1 vaccines have been procured and two samples of blood were sent for testing at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA).
He made the announcement at a brown bag meeting held by Pan American Health Organization, (PAHO) where ‘Health @50 in Guyana: Through the lens of PAHO/WHO’ was discussed.
(GINA photo)
As regards H1N1, Dr Persaud said that a significant section of the population was already immunised against the disease since 2009, during what was then a massive outbreak. He surmised that some 120,000 persons were vaccinated then.
He reiterated that Port Health officers were aware of what to look for and prepared for any eventuality.
Meanwhile, Guyana was added to the US travel advisory last Friday. This followed the revelation by Minister of Public Health Dr George Norton that a 27-year-old local woman had tested positive for Zika and a PAHO/WHO Epidemiological Update on January 17, listing Guyana as one of the countries which has recorded the presence of Zika.
While Zika is prevalent among pregnant mothers, other persons are also being monitored including children with neurological disorders. “The disease has been milder in adults and children and even milder than Chikungunya in terms of pains but there are some cases which are being closely monitored,” the CMO said.
A number of activities are ongoing to address the virus such as the fogging through the vector control system especially in highly populated regions and house-to-house inspection to ensure there is no presence of the Aedes species of mosquito, which is responsible for the spread of Zika. The distribution of treated nets has also commenced at various clinics throughout the country while there is a hope to expand to private clinics.
PAHO/WHO Country Representative Dr William Adu-Krow said that the main focus currently is to educate the public about the Zika virus. “We need to prevent the population from panicking,” Adu-Krow stated.
He said that while the organization has been working a lot with the health ministry, it will at the same time be focusing on developing a lab in Guyana where testing can be facilitated to avoid long delay of results. A discussion was already held with officials from CARPHA who are ready to provide training for staff.
While Zika is one of the nation’s newest crises, Persaud noted that various health issues were dealt with over the past 50 years. The aim is to fight the Zika the same way the others were dealt with or even better.
In highlighting the work done by the health sector over the past 50 years, he said during the early independent period a lot of focus was placed on food and nutrition mainly to address the malnutrition problem which was prominent particularly in hinterland regions and remote areas along with communicable diseases. From the 60s going into the 70s, Guyana developed one of the best immunization programmes in the region.
“Together with PAHO/WHO and other agencies we have worked to develop a very robust immunization programme,” Persaud declared while adding that persons are so aware of the programme that when any health issue arises, they first request vaccines.
He said Guyana has even moved up to immunizing chronic diseases by starting to distribute the Human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines with the hope to expand the programme especially in populations and areas where it is most needed and will have the greatest impact. “We have brought sickness like measles and polio to the point of elimination. We are actually at the point where we are certifying elimination of those sickness right now in Guyana,” Persaud said.
Persaud further stated that antibiotic and antiparasitic interventions in the mid-70s – 80s became the hallmark of health services.
And while strong programmes are in place to deal with TB, leprosy, malaria, the worm treatment and general infections, leprosy and malaria are still challenging with rise of resistance and with difficult to reach populations.
He spoke too of the emergence of HIV/AIDS as well as other infectious diseases, chronic diseases and mental health issues including suicide, accidents and violence, which have popped up as major health issues in Guyana.
“Several efforts are currently being made to address suicide,” Persaud noted, adding that a few weeks back there was a major stakeholders meeting on suicide where an emergency plan was developed and will hopefully be rolled out soon with PAHO/WHO.
In addition, there is also a focus on addressing the other social issues by looking at poison control and restricting access to chemicals used to commit suicide. Measures will also be put in place to provide support to persons suffering from depression and anxiety, he said.
