Health Ministry to host town hall on dengue in Negril, Westmoreland

The Ministry of Health and Wellness is to host a town hall meeting on dengue in Negril, Westmoreland on Thursday.

The function will be held at the Negril Community Centre along the Norman Manley Boulevard, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The ministry says the meeting will provide an update on dengue data relating to the parish and western Jamaica and the response activities employed in the region.

The country continues to combat a dengue outbreak.

Health and Wellness Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, told parliament last month that the ministry’s National Surveillance Unit received a total of 12,794 notifications for dengue between January 1, 2018, and November 7, 2019 - 2,235 in 2018 and 10,559 since 2019.

Tufton disclosed that, of the 12,794 notifications, 7,179 cases, with dates of onset in the period under review, have been classified as suspected, presumed or confirmed (1,065 with dates of onset in 2018 and 6,114 (85%) with dates of onset in 2019).

The majority of the suspected/presumed/confirmed cases were female, with the burden of the number of cases greatest among the 25 to 59-year-olds followed by the 5 to 14-year-old age cohort, he said.

He outlined that the highest rate of dengue cases was among the 5 to 14-year-olds, followed by children 1 to 4 years old.

As at November 7, there were 61 suspected/confirmed deaths, of which 17 were in 2018 and 44 in 2019, Tufton told lawmakers. 

The age group with the largest number of suspected and confirmed dengue-related deaths was the 5 to 14 years old cohort.

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