Toshao of Moruka, Joseph De Souza yesterday confirmed that there had been two more deaths in Moruka from a gastro-like affliction bringing the toll to at least six while a number of persons have fallen sick even as a health team from Georgetown investigates.
Region One Chairman, Fermin Singh told Stabroek News yesterday that he was unaware of any reports of the two recent fatalities. He said a team of officials from the Health Ministry is currently monitoring the situation, noting that the health officials were in the area over the weekend.
Stabroek News was informed by De Souza yesterday that a 10-month-old boy, Troydon Thornhill of Kamwatta village, located in the Moruka sub-region and pensioner Albert De La Cruz of Santa Rosa, Moruka, both died on Monday evening. According to a resident in the area, De La Cruz died at his home following a bout of diarrhoea and vomiting which he had been experiencing since last week. Thornhill also died at home after his parents complained of their son vomiting extensively a few hours prior to his death. It is unclear whether the two received any treatment from the Kumaka District Hospital.
Repeated attempts by Stabroek News to contact Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy and Minister in the Minister of Health Bheri Ramsaran for comment on the situation failed.
De Souza and his deputy, Genevieve Ruffino told this newspaper yesterday that the other two deaths have deepened concerns of residents in the region. There were also reports of two other deaths in the region since the first four were reported but Stabroek News was unable to confirm this. Ruffino, with concern in her voice, said that a team from the Ministry of Health had visited the area on Saturday but did not venture into certain areas where persons had complained of suffering from the illness. She said she had received complaints from Kenrick Charlie, whose brother and mother had passed away last week, about the team being told by a health worker in the area that the man’s family lives “too far away” from the Kumaka District Hospital. Ruffino said this explanation was given as the reason why the team was unable to visit the man and his relatives at the village of Kabura.
Charlie told this newspaper yesterday that the entire string of events, including the death of his 32-year-old brother Calvin Charlie two Mondays ago and his 63-year-old mother Helena Charlie last Tuesday, have left him feeling frustrated. The man said that his village is accessible by road and was at a loss as to why the Ministry of Health’s team, which included Minister within that ministry Dr Ramsaran, did not visit his village which he said is located some two miles away from the Kumaka District Hospital. He said a few of his children as well as the children of his now dead brother have been experiencing diarrhoea which is followed by bouts of vomiting.
Kabura, Kamwatta, Kumaka and Paloma are all villages located within the Santa Rosa area.
An official at the Region One administrative office at Mabaruma told Stabroek News last evening that the patients experiencing the symptoms have only been visiting the hospitals in the region whenever the cases become serious. The official said that there have been similar cases over the past few months which were treated by medical officials in the region.
On July 2, Stabroek News had reported on the deaths of the two Charlies. Two other persons from Port Kaituma were also said to have died after displaying the same symptoms but their names were not available.
At that time, Vice-Chairman of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) of Port Kaituma Richard Allen had told Stabroek News that15 people were admitted to the hospital in that area all suffering from dehydration due to the vomiting and diarrhoea but by last weekend all were discharged. He said as far as he knows one man died at home after several days of attempting to treat himself while another man died in Georgetown.
He confirmed that many persons were suffering from the same illness. He said while the medex feels that it has to do with the sanitary conditions where the persons live, no tests have been done to confirm this.
Allen said also that people are waiting until they almost can’t walk before going to the hospital and he pointed out that this is a dangerous practice. He called for the Health Ministry to do the necessary tests in order to ascertain what is causing the illness. A health team was subsequently sent in.
Moruca resident Robin De Souza, who said he was ill for almost five days with the same complaint, said that there is need for the ministry to do something before it is too late.
“I feel that older people wouldn’t be able to survive this because your body really getting weak,” he said.
The country recently confirmed two cases of the HINI flu. Some of the symptoms experienced by victims in the northwest are similar to those manifested by the HINI though most people believe the affliction is likely gastroenteritis or the Rotavirus. There is also a lot of movement of residents between the north west and Venezuela. As of July 6 Venezuela had reported 222 cases of the H1N1 flu.
Dr?Bheri Ramsaran cannot deal with the situation because he ain’t no doctor.Life is so unfair, the Ministers and their family and friends are jetted out of Guyana when they have a headache, but the poor people have to suffer and die. Bring in a proper docter to deal with this situation. Too may people are dying there..mangochutney
Dr Bheri Ramsarran is a doctor, he treated me, my wife and my mother years ago. If you want to talk about administrator that’s a different story.
every thing dat happens in guyana is de administration falt….leh meh say again…meh walk pun de road in guyana and nail bore meh foot is jagdeo falt…
There is a real difference between a public health doctor and a medical clinician. A public health doctor has the technical training to not only diagnose and treat illnesses but also to explore risk factors that are responsible for an adverse outcome (illness or death). A clinician makes decision on laboratory, radiological findings…, diagnosis by exclusion etc. This category of health care professional believes that for “every ill there is a pill”. Public health doctors are excellent administrators for delivering either a selective or comprehensive Primary Health Care program. Perhaps, the Ministry of Health is in dire need of this category of health care professionals. On the other hand, I would have expected by now, that the Ministry of Health would have been in a position to release preliminary information on the findings on clinical stool specimens, blood investigation of cases (suspect, probable and confirmed). A failure to isolate a putative agent does not mean that the investigation has failed but rather, the investigative technique may not be appropriate for isolating the pathogen that may be present. It is reasonable to expect, that the physician would have entered into consultation with the medical technologist and decide on what other pathogens are highly likely to be responsible for the unexplained illness. Please do not play games with peoples’ health- they are precious resources who have the right to life…
Ministry Of Health it’s time for answers. You’ve had enough notice and time for testing should be over. It’s time for the implementation of a solution. Madame Foreign Minister your people are dying and you have been stricken into silence. Forget Cabinet solidarity and apply pressure for a solution. The days of second class citizenship are over.
What is up with the medical personnel that they are yet to conclusively determine the cause of these illnesses and deaths. This is taking too long. The sickness is confined to the North West and therefore should be less complicated to pinpoint. Where is the good doctor Ramsammy!!!!
I would like to share this abstract on Rotavirus with fellow bloggers:
Abstract
The role of human rotavirus in adult diarrhea was evaluated in 164 newly arrived US students attending summer school at an urban Mexican university. Rotavirus was identified in stool samples by electron microscopy. Rotavirus was found in 26 of 109 students with diarrhea (24%) and in 8 of 55 asymptomatic control students (15%). Although bacterial pathogens were recovered from virus positive students with diarrhea, viral shedding also occurred independently of other agents. Clinical disease in students excreting only rotavirus tended to be mild and was accompanied by a low density of viral shedding. Food consumption in the home and at public eating establishments was examined the week before illness. While the location of food consumption was found to be important in the acquisition of diarrhea, there was no apparent relationship of the site where meals were eaten and the acquisition of rotavirus by students newly arrived in Mexico. These data support our previous study in a US student population residing in a rural setting in Mexico and implicate rotavirus as a cause of diarrhea among students traveling to Mexico from the United States. The present study offers additional evidence that rotavirus infection in this population might be spread by a nonfood vehicle of transmission which differs from spread of enterotoxigenic E coli, Shigella, or Salmonella strains in the same population.
Reference: Journal of Medical Virology, Volume 4 Issue 2.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/112181971/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
If members of Parliament were experiencing a mysterious illness and dying out like flies this Government Guyana would have taken fast and drastic action to save these law makers..
This is a conformation on the Government inability to protect the Guyanese People and I can understand why people are leaving Guyana more than ever.
The question is Guyana and its emergency system? How effective is it? Is there one in place to aide the people of Guyana in case of national disaster? The flood of 2005 is an example of the PPP’s Government ability handle disaster.
The Government now awaits a hand out as a mysterious illness hit a section of the Guyanese community.
This can spread to other parts of Guyana, and Guyanese need to question the services of the Guyana Government.
Mr. Lunchon where is the State Emergency Response System that protects the people?
When senior Government officials get sick Mr. Luchon, you and other fly to other countries and to receive the best of medical services, and now when the ordinary Guyanese gets sick you call it a mysterious illness with no system in place to detect the illness so they die.
Stop being selfish PPP Government, and serve the people of Guyana don’t just serve a few, serve all the people that’s the duty of the Government.
The rest of the Caribbean now understand why Guyanese have to run away from Guyana.
SEND THE GOD DAM TEST ABOARD AN SEE WHAT KILLING OUT OUR PEOPLE ,GET THE HELL UP FROM YOUR AC OFFICE AN DO SOMETHING THAT WHY WE TAXS PAYERS PAY U ALL.
Do you expect any speedy diagnosis from amateur physicians and UG trained doctors?
What’s wrong with UG trained doctors?
Please do not put down your own. They do a good job based on the resources they have. Be appreciative of those of us who remained in Guyana to serve.
Is there any major mining in the area? If there is, this may be the cause of this mystery.
that’s might be the answer. good work mr hoyte. it’s seems money is more important than health, without health how will you get money?
This is unacceptable..is Guyana giving the rotovirus vaccine yet to babies..that would help babies. the MOH needs to get sampled tested asap and treat this disease before it wipes out our amerindians..
This is my fear for Guyana, an outbreak of something that no one will be able to stop. They are nor prepared