Residents are urged to take proper control measures around their homes to reduce breeding of the Ades Aegypti mosquito which has the potential to transmit dengue fever.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is a dengue epidemic in the Dominican Republic. Most provinces report an increase of dengue fever of 25 per cent when compared to last year.
By the end of March, there were 2155 probable cases of which 306 patients had hemorrhagic fever and 16 died. There are three dengue serotypes circulating in the Dominican Republic, DEN-1, DEN-2 and DEN-4.
Persons who plan to travel or who have travelled to the Dominican Republic, and experience flu-like symptoms, are requested to visit their family physician and inform him/her about their recent travels.
To avoid being bitten by a mosquito, use repellent and wear long sleeves shirts/blouses as well as pants. Place screens at windows, doors and remove or turn over water receptacles to diminish mosquito breeding opportunities.
Public action is necessary to keep the mosquito population in check, and prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. The recent rains open up the possibility of stagnant water being found in items around the home. This allows the mosquito to reproduce in just a drop of clean stagnant rain water.
Based on a mid-project assessment of the yard to yard inspections that started March 19, of 4,014 premises inspected up until April 16, health inspectors discovered 11 per cent were sources for mosquito breeding. The internationally accepted level is five per cent or less.
The yard to yard inspections will continue until May 15 and entails overall inspections of approximately 10,000 premises. Some of the challenges confronted by inspectors were closed premises, untied dogs, language barrier, and non-cooperative household owners. Public cooperation is essential and household and business owners are urged to continue cooperating as this is in the national interests. Coordinators and supervisors of the project are Gerald Peters, Johnny Wattley and Kendal Gumbs.
The Ades Aegypti mosquito breeds mostly in domestic environments as a result of human activity. Residents therefore have a major role to play in eliminating the aforementioned mosquito and reducing the possibility of another dengue fever outbreak.
The CPS is calling on households and businesses to continue to be vigilant in keeping their surroundings mosquito, Aedes Agypti Free by keeping yards and premises clean.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne infection that causes a severe flu-like illness that affects infants, young children and adults. If you experience fever, body aches, headache, severe pain behind the eyes, consult your physician and check your surroundings to ensure that no breeding source is present.
Preventive actions that every household should take are: immediately remove debris, old tires and standing clear/clean water in yards which are the main source and breeding ground for mosquitoes. These mosquito breeding sources should be immediately eliminated.
Immediately check for clear/clean standing water in roof spouts, empty drums, buckets, jars, birdbaths, boats, plant containers, saucers, paint cans and other items that can collect water around your homes and businesses. Where clear/clean standing water exists, one can use small amounts of kerosene, just to cover the surface as a measure to prevent mosquito breeding or just get rid of the container.
In the case of where containers are used for storing water, residents should keep these properly covered and check every three days to make sure that mosquito's haven't laid any eggs. Inlets and outlets of cisterns must be covered with a mosquito net or cloth to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in the water.
