213 dengue cases reported in SVG, with 17 cases, mostly children, hospitalised

THE OUTBREAK OF DENGUE FEVER continues to be an issue of concern for the government and health officials in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).With an increase in the number of laboratory confirmed Dengue cases across the State, Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves is particularly worried about how this viral disease is affecting the children of the nation.

Speaking on WEFM’s Issue At Hand programme on Sunday, August 11, 2024, Gonsalves disclosed that 17 people were hospitalized with Dengue Fever, the majority of them being children. Describing this situation as “most worrying”, he called on citizens to prevent the breeding of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which causes Dengue fever, asking that they overturn barrels and other uncovered containers which collect

water for the mosquitoes to lay eggs and multiply.

Dengue Fever is a mosquito borne illness which is transmitted when someone is bitten by an infected female Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Within the space of one week, the number of Dengue cases had moved from 113 to 213, the figures being for the period up to August 9, 2024. Gonsalves said the health areas with the majority of tested dengue cases are: Kingstown, Calliaqua, Pembroke and Bequia.

He added that the Ministry of Health is conducting fogging to help rid the communities of mosquitoes and has doubled the number of vector control officers from 50 to 100 in a bid to help with source reduction. Among the tasks involved is visits to premises to conduct inspections.

A total of 16 Dengue fever cases were recorded in SVG between January and June this year. Children, pregnant women, and the elderly are among the persons most at risk of becoming very ill from the mosquito-borne disease. There have, however, been no reported Dengue-related deaths.