Act swiftly to prevent possible Yellow Fever outbreak, public health officials urged

Well-known medical practitioner, Dr Winston Dawes, is raising fears that there may be an outbreak of Yellow Fever and other mosquito-borne illnesses if local public health officials do not act swiftly in the aftermath of the recent heavy rains and flooding.

Dawes says public health officials need to go beyond fogging and intensify public education since the mosquitos that transmit the diseases are normally found in and around homes.

The former senior medical officer of the May Pen Hospital says there is a reported increase in the mosquito population in Clarendon.

The parish was the worst affected by the recent heavy rains that triggered widespread flooding.

He says with reports of an outbreak of Yellow Fever in the South and Central America, there is an urgent need for local officials to act now.

Dawes says a similar occurrence here would have a devastating impact on the economy.