MOH puts Westmoreland on malaria alert

WESTERN BUREAU:

Medical officer of health for Westmoreland Dr Marcia Graham is encouraging Jamaicans who plan to travel to countries where malaria is endemic to first visit their local health clinic to get medication to protect themselves before leaving the island.

“If we have persons who are planning to travel overseas, it is always good for you to check if you need to get prophylaxis, that’s medication to prevent you contracting malaria. We have tablets that can be used to protect against malaria,” explained Graham, who was presenting her report on the health status of Westmoreland at the parish’s most recent monthly meeting.

Malaria is endemic to several Central and South American countries such as Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Venezuela, and Graham wants persons planning business and vocational excursions to these countries to take preventative medications at least two weeks before boarding their flights.

“If you are travelling to any of these countries, you should let us know at the health department. We need to know at least two weeks in advance because the medication to prevent malaria, you take it once a week, the same day every week - two weeks before you travel and weekly while you are overseas,” she said.

According to Graham, malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease and has symptoms such as high fever, shaking chills, and flu-like illnesses. As such, she said people would need to be responsible in ensuring that they follow the instructions on the frequency with which they are to take their preventative malaria medication even after they return from their overseas visit.

“After you come back, you’ll continue taking it, every week, once a week, for four weeks after your return, and that can prevent you from contracting malaria if you have been exposed,” added Graham.

She said that while Jamaica is not a malaria endemic country, it can be imported here if persons travel overseas and become exposed.

“We don’t have malaria in Jamaica – we are not an endemic country – but there is always the risk of importing malaria because the mosquito that transmits it, the Anopheles mosquito, is here. So if somebody who is infected comes here and the Anopheles mosquito bites that person and then bites another person, we can have local transmission,” Graham explained.

The local health department in Westmoreland is also urging residents to search for and destroy all mosquito breeding spaces to limit the spread of the Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes, which causes dengue, and the Anopheles, which transmit malaria.