Philipsburg- Personnel from Sector Health Care Affairs (SHCA), the Department of Public Works and members of the Dengue Action Response Team (DART) have been busy giving presentations to primary and high school students informing them about preventive actions to eliminate mosquito breeding and informing them about dengue fever.
Preventive Health Department Head Dr. Rachel Eersel said the response has been overwhelming but getting the message out to the community is part of the stepped-up campaign to inform and educate the populace about the matter.
The education presentations in the schools started October 27 and will run for a one-month period, until the end of November. A team of two persons visit schools based on pre-arranged schedule between 7.30am and 9.00am. Students are also given a flyer with information to take home to their parents.
Preventive public awareness involves informing the general public about the risk of outbreaks and the importance of regular mosquito control. These population level education strategies about dengue prevention are designed to create and maintain awareness and motivation within the community.
Commissioner of Public Health Maria Buncamper-Molanus pointed out that communicable diseases kill, maim and cause suffering to millions of people across the globe every year.
"Technical solutions alone cannot ensure the effective control and prevention of communicable diseases. The DART Team has embarked on strategies to mobilize all levels of society including the educational system.
"No stone will be left unturned to get the word out of what preventive actions homeowners and building site managers and many others in our community need to take to prevent mosquito breeding and the further spread of dengue fever," Commissioner of Public Health Maria Buncamper-Molanus told the Government Information Service (GIS) on Tuesday.
Commissioner Buncamper was also involved in the first house-to-house/yard inspections that started last week Friday in the district of Point Blanche. Buncamper wanted to get a first hand look at the problem.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne infection that causes a severe flu-like illness that affects infants, young children and adults, but seldom causes death.
Dengue viruses are transmitted to humans through the bites of infective female Aedes Mosquito. Mosquitoes generally acquire the virus while feeding on the blood of an infected person. After virus incubation for eight to 10 days, an infected mosquito is capable, during probing and blood feeding, of transmitting the virus for the rest of its life. The average life span of an Aedes mosquito in nature is two weeks.
Infected humans are the main carriers and multipliers of the virus, serving as a source of the virus for uninfected mosquitoes.
The clinical features of dengue fever vary according to the age of the patient. Infants and young children may have a fever with rash. Older children and adults may have either a mild fever or the classical incapacitating disease with abrupt onset and high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, backache, nausea and vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and rash.
If you have symptoms of dengue fever, you should consult your general physician.
Anyone requiring additional information concerning measures to prevent mosquito breeding or to report areas of standing water, overgrown vegetation etc should immediately call the Hygiene Department at 542-2079.
