Swine flu illness now on high alert list
A 50 year old medical doctor is the first person to succumb to the H1N1 virus, also known as the Swine Flu.
Suzanna Roye died at the University Hospital of the West Indies, after being transferred from a hospital in the central parish of Manchester.
The report adds that another female doctor is in the intensive care unit at the University Hospital, however, she is responding to treatment.
Last week, the Ministry of Health upgraded Swine Flue to a category one illness – meaning that within 24 hours of suspecting a case of severe acute respirator illness, medical practitioners must report it to the health authority.
So far, nine cases of swine flu have been confirmed in the island – the cases originated from the Corporate Area as well as central and western Jamaica.
Meanwhile the main opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has called on health minister Horace Dalley to provide Jamaicans with an update on the H1N1 virus.
“The Jamaica Labour Party is calling on the Minister of Health to tell the country what is happening with the H1N1. What steps are being taken to protect health workers. …We want to know when the first case was reported, when the first case was diagnosed,” said the JLP’s spokesperson on Health, Marlene Malahoo Forte.
Acting chief medical officer, Dr Winston De La Haye stated that Jamaicans should remain on the lookout when it comes to mosquitoes as there are now 23 confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne disease dengue fever in Jamaica.
Dengue fever is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is also responsible for the transmission of chikungunya and Zika. Dr De La Haye said the same preventative measures, such as getting rid of mosquito-breeding sites, should continue in order to mitigate the risk of contracting the mosquito -borne diseases.
