Of 349 persons who have been tested. Two of those cases were diagnosed by the French labs on the North side of the island.
During the same time-frame, January to September 2010, 15 persons were admitted to the Sint Maarten Medical Center of which 13 were confirmed dengue fever cases and two were negative.
PS is appealing to the general public to be vigilant in taking the necessary steps to prevent mosquito breeding in order to avoid mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever from developing further and getting out of control.
Measures that residents must take to prevent mosquito breeding are:
Debris, old tires and stagnant water in yards has the potential of becoming breeding sites for mosquitoes and should be removed.
Residents are therefore strongly advised to take action making sure to keep their yards free of stagnant water; clean out their roof spouts; and disposing responsibly old tires, empty drums, buckets, jars, birdbaths, boats, plant containers, paint cans and other items that can collect water around your home and businesses.
In the case of where containers are used for storing water, residents should keep these covered. Inlets and outlets of cisterns must be covered with a mosquito net or cloth to prevent mosquitos from breeding in the water. Persons should also ensure that their windows and doors are properly screened and wear protective clothing.
Contractors on job sites are advised to empty buckets and cover water storage drums and have the site cleaned up at the end of the work day of anything that can hold water even plastic bags.
Mosquito fogging is not effective during periods of rainfall as it doesn't allow the chemical to remain long enough to be effective. Frequent fogging can cause mosquitoes to build up a resistance to the used chemical to control the mosquito population.
