(Trinidad Guardian) The Opposition is calling on Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh to declare dengue a public health emergency. Referring to confirmation from the ministry on Saturday that there were cases of the mosquito-borne virus, Caroni East MP Rishad Seecharan made the call while addressing the United National Congress (UNC) weekly press briefing, yesterday morning.
Seecharan likened Deyalsingh’s handling of the virus to the Government’s initial reluctance to make the declaration in relation to the COVID-19 virus in 2020. He said, “Today, as I speak to you, dengue is becoming the COVID-19 of 2024.”
Seecharan noted that the cases confirmed by the ministry thus far were not an accurate reflection of the national infection rate, as the statistics are based on cases confirmed through laboratory testing. “Many thousands more are left undiagnosed, with mild to moderate symptoms,” he said. There have been two dengue-related deaths and 190 confirmed cases of dengue fever as of June.
Seecharan pointed out that Puerto Rico made the declaration after it noted more cases in the last five months than for the whole of last year.
Dealing with the ministry’s attempts to deal with the virus, Seecharan pointed out that it issued a public advisory on its social media pages on Friday. The advisory listed the contact information for County Public Health Offices across the country for citizens to report suspected cases and possible breeding sites for the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits the virus.
“This is too late. This should have been done many, many months ago. The ministry has taken too long to activate its public education campaign,” Seecharan said.
He also criticised the ministry for focusing its campaign in shopping malls, as he noted that 83 per cent of the cases identified by the ministry came from rural communities in central and south Trinidad.
“The Ministry of Health had the responsibility to go into rural and vulnerable communities and to target their message to those who need it the most,” he said.
Seecharan also took aim at the ministry’s Insect Vector Control Division, whose work, he claimed, was hampered by a lack of equipment, chemicals, and personal protective equipment. He claimed that the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation, the Couva/Tabaquite Regional Corporation, and the Siparia Borough Corporation, which are all controlled by the UNC, have taken matters into their own hands and have begun aggressive spraying and fogging campaigns in communities with clusters of infections.
“Penal/Debe Regional Corporation chairman Gowtam Maharaj has also taken the initiative of instituting an additional morning shift of spraying, achieving 1,000 households per day throughout the corporation and with its resources,” he said.
Maharaj told Guardian Media yesterday that the region was grappling with swarms of mosquitoes. He said there have been several cases of dengue, and two related deaths in the Penal/Debe region.
Seecharan called on Rural Development and Local Government Minister Faris Al-Rawi to ensure the three corporations receive their financial releases on time so that the programmes could continue over the next few months. “Now is not the time to play politics with the lives of people,” he said.
“Corporations need all the assistance that they can get to keep our communities safe.”
Seecharan suggested that Deyalsingh reach out to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for technical assistance.
“They have the expertise to advise where the ministry has gone wrong in their dengue management,” he said.
He advised citizens to be vigilant in recognising whether they or members of their household are suffering from symptoms of dengue, such as severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, nausea, joint and muscle pain, and swollen glands. He suggested that they could lower their risk of infection by wearing clothing covering as much of their bodies as possible, using mosquito nets when sleeping during the day, and using mosquito repellents and coils.
The Caroni East MP also advised citizens to prevent mosquitoes from accessing egg-laying habitats by disposing of water-collecting vessels on their properties and by covering, emptying, and cleaning domestic water storage containers weekly.
Meanwhile, as Dengue Fever, Zika and Chikungunya continue to increase across the Caribbean region, the Caribbean Public Health Agency has appealed to people to remain vigilant and take immediate action to reduce the spread of these mosquito-borne diseases as they threaten lives and negatively impact livelihoods.
Deyalsingh’s response last month
Responding to questions in Parliament last month, Deyalsingh denied allegations from the Opposition that there were “hundreds” of dengue cases in T&T. At the time, Deyalsingh said that the ministry had recorded 123 cases for the first five months of the year. Dealing with the ministry’s preparations, he said every year it starts its dengue and mosquito sensitisation programme in February.
He said the ministry conducted sensitisation activities with doctors to help them recognise signs and symptoms. He also noted that there were public outreach exercises. Deyalsingh said the ministry was focused on educating the population on source reduction in the home and the community through the cleaning of water receptacles.
“We also do different types of spraying, ultra-low-volume thermal fogging. However, spraying is not the only solution to this because, as the Chief Public Health Inspector explained to the country yesterday, spraying can eventually lead to over-spraying, which causes the mosquito to build up resistance to the chemicals,” Deyalsingh said.
“Also, it can be dangerous to human, animal, bird health if exposed too often. So the strategy is you do a combination of sensitisation for homeowners to do their bit; (then) for the Ministry of Health to do their bit via the Insect Vector Control Division.”