St. Maarten is on
pre-dengue alert
~ 18 lab confirmed cases so far for the year ~
PHILIPSBURG--Eighteen lab-confirmed dengue cases had been attributed to St. Maarten up to Tuesday, November 27, placing the island on pre-dengue alert.
Health Commissioner Maria Buncamper-Molanus said this month’s figure was “slightly” above the “normally recorded” figures for the island and was just one case above “historic figures.”
She said during Wednesday’s Executive Council press briefing that of the 18 cases, 10 of the tests had been done at labs in French St. Martin, while eight had been done at labs in Dutch St. Maarten.
She said health officials on both sides of the island had been holding meetings to assess the situation and take measures to combat the spread of the disease.
Dengue is a tropical disease “caused by a virus transported by mosquitoes and marked by high fever and severe muscle and joint pains.”
Among the combating measures are fogging exercises that began in St. Maarten Monday and a public awareness campaign to be spearheaded by the Government Information Service (GIS). The GIS campaign will be focused on “increasing the awareness and knowledge” of residents about the virus and providing “the necessary information on what they can do to prevent an outbreak.”
Buncamper-Molanus said the public awareness campaigns “will have a positive effect, as far as reducing the chances of further spreading, but the public has to take the necessary action. We cannot underestimate the importance of the public’s role in keeping this disease from spreading. It is we, the people of St. Maarten, who have the biggest positive effect in stopping the spread of this disease.”
The Hygiene and Veterinary Department will also embark on a district campaign, inspecting the living environment of persons who are suspected of having the virus. Acting Hygiene Department Head Cylred Richardson had told The Daily Herald in an earlier interview that among the things for which the department would check was that there were no potential breeding places for mosquitoes.
The Department will also educate neighbours in the immediate vicinity about measures they can take to reduce mosquito breeding.
The Tourist Bureau will also be informed. “It’s important that we don’t make any unnecessary alarms or (provide) alarming reports,” the Commissioner stressed.
“Up to the week of October 28 to November 3, the Public Health Department has seen a slight increase in the number of reported suspected dengue cases through the physician-based surveillance sentinel system,” the Commissioner said, noting that the system served as an “early warning system.” She said the seven participating physicians in St. Maarten reported on cases of communicable diseases on a weekly basis, dengue included.
The Health Department has also been receiving information on lab requests for dengue, as well as confirmed lab cases. “Although the department has noticed an increase in lab work requested for dengue over the past weeks, it has not seen the increase in the number of lab-confirmed cases.”
Buncamper-Molanus said the Public Health Department had “increased its activities in this area” since the dengue outbreak in the region. She said too that physicians had been asked to report all suspected cases of dengue.
“I have to emphasise that the stage we are in is a pre-alert phase and I hope that it is reported accordingly, because we have realised that in this month we are slightly above what is normally recorded,” she said.
