Western Ja prepared for malaria, says WRHA director

WESTERN BUREAU:

Following reports that there are at least two suspected cases of malaria in Jamaica, Errol Greene, the regional director of the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), is giving assurance that his organisation is equipped to treat any incidence in western Jamaica.

In an interview with The Gleaner on Friday, Greene said that one of the two cases, which was reported from St James, is currently being treated at Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay.

“We’re on target for malaria, because we’re always on the lookout for it, and our lab is prepared for the tests to be done. I can confirm that I have the information on the case in St James, on which the regional technical director briefed me, and that the patient is not a resident of St James, but of St Ann,” said Greene.

“The patient sought treatment at a private hospital here in St James, but the case could not be managed there and he ended up at the CRH, where he’s being treated. From my understanding, he checked himself out of the private hospital and went to the CRH, and tests have been done and he’s coming along quite well,” Greene added.

Visited Africa

The second malaria case was recorded in St Catherine earlier this month, where a woman reportedly visited a country in Africa and became ill after returning home. The woman later tested positive following a check-up.

Malaria is caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes, with symptoms appearing 10 to 15 days afterwards. In 2017, there were an estimated 219 million cases of malaria in 87 countries.

Early symptoms of the disease include fever, headaches and chills, while advanced symptoms present with anaemia and respiratory distress in children and multiple organ failure in adults.

Greene also addressed the WRHA’s ongoing vector-control efforts to curb the mosquito population in order to prevent the spread of the dengue fever virus by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

“We’re meeting our target, and we’re doing extremely well with respect to the mosquito indices. The dengue index is coming down, and our people are out working,” said Greene. “We took no holiday, because fogging was done over the holiday season.”