Chikungunya confirmed on Saint Lucia
The Eastern Caribbean island country of Saint Lucia has reported confirming its first case of the mosquito borne viral disease, chikungunya, according to Glen Simon with the Saint Lucia Ministry of Health today.
Image/CDC
Epidemiologist, Nehum Jn Baptiste, said the authorities were urging the public not to panic.
“We do not want to create any panic. It is because of our efforts with respect to strengthening the surveillance that we are now able to detect much quicker, not only chikungunya but dengue, leptospirosis and some of the other diseases that present with similar symptoms,” Jn Baptiste said.
Health officials are advising the public not to inadvertently create breeding sites for the mosquito.
The Ministry of Health is cautioning the public to store water in tightly sealed containers. Any discarded or unused containers around the home which could potentially contain water (tins, pails, buckets, old appliances, used tires) should be properly disposed or stored.
Given the trends of the inter-island travel between Saint Lucia and these territories, the Ministry of Health assumed a proactive stance in anticipation of this eventuality. Active surveillance of the disease commenced from early 2014 and the preventative efforts focused on intensifying source reduction and treating breeding sites.
The chikungunya outbreak in the Caribbean, which began on St. Martin in early December, has grown to more than 18,000 confirmed and suspected cases as of Friday.
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[…] addition, both the Dominican Republic (suspected cases) and Saint Lucia (confirmed according to their health ministry) are reporting cases not included in the ECDC […]