(Trinidad Express) An outbreak of dengue in a community in Barrackpore has resulted in one death and left two hospitalised in critical condition.
At least 11 members of a family in Ramsubhag Trace have been affected by dengue haemorrhagic fever, and relatives fear the situation may get worse.
Speaking to the Express yesterday at his home in Ramsubhag Trace, Barrackpore, 63-year-old Mahindra Mahadeo said while several relatives in the area were infected with dengue, his 65-year-old brother Sieunarine Mahadeo died last Tuesday from the illness.
Mahadeo is said to be one of the two dengue-related deaths in Trinidad that the Health Ministry previously confirmed.
The other was a teenager from Fyzabad.
“This is the first time we have dengue in we family. Everybody living around here. It is about 11 people get this virus in the family. My brother died from it last Tuesday after he developed a bleeding in the brain from dengue,” he said.
The family, he said, is now worried that more relatives may succumb to the illness, especially since two other members were recently hospitalised at the San Fernando General Hospital.
Mahadeo said from information he received yesterday, both a middle-aged woman and a teenage boy were in critical condition.
He added that despite relatives keeping their surroundings clear, the nearby lagoon provides breeding grounds for mosquitoes. He feared that as long as the waterways remained clogged, the mosquito infestation would persist.
Responding to calls for more stringent measures following Mahadeo’s death, chairman of the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation (PDRC) Gowtam Maharaj said they have been engaged in preventative measures for weeks.
“The PDRC, which has an ongoing aggressive schedule of dyna fogging, had treated Ramsubhag Trace two weeks prior to Mahadeo’s demise. Currently drainage clearing is taking place in the area by PDRC,” he said yesterday.
He added that “an equal effort” was also required from the trained staff at the Ministry of Health’s Insect Vector Control Division (IVCD) to combat the issue.
Maharaj said while $21 million was approved in the national budget, the corporation had not yet accessed the funds to undertake Development Infrastructural Projects, which stalled the construction and repair of bridges, culverts, and box drains.
As the PDRC continued its dyna fogging exercise in Debe yesterday, the Express spoke to residents of Mahadeo Trace, who expressed concern over the increase in mosquitoes.
Maharaj said dyna fogging was conducted both in the morning and evening, targeting 1,000 households per day.
Resident Rajesh Ramcharitar noted that the mosquitoes were more “vicious” this season.
“The sting is totally different. You don’t even see them coming. You just feel them biting. You seeing them a lot during the day now,” he said.
To combat the infestation, he said he sprays his surroundings twice a week.
“The mosquitoes for the past month was a lot. You have to do your own thing. We try to keep it under control. We always use malathion,” he added.
He mentioned that while there is fear of the aedes aegypti mosquito during the wet season due to improper water runoff in the southern areas, mosquitoes are rampant even outside of the season.
Another resident Deoballie Lall said the appearance of mosquitoes was not typical.
“Imagine they say mosquito does come out in the night-time, but broad daylight, we have mosquito problems. There is real mosquitoes. There is definitely a mosquito infestation,” he said.
The Health Ministry has confirmed 190 confirmed cases of dengue fever as of June.
