Suspected chikungunya cases close to 2,000, says Chief Medical Officer

There are close to 2,000 suspected cases of Chikungunya in Guyana and health authorities believe that there might be more, according to Chief Medical Officer Shamdeo Persaud.

Persaud yesterday said so far Guyana has 86 confirmed cases based on 298 samples sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Trinidad. Only 115 samples results were returned.

He also stated that the Ministry was collaborating with the Pan American Health Organissation (PAHO) to monitor the situation.

Recently, the public policy advocacy group Blue CAPS sounded a warning over what it called the failure of the health authorities to address the scope of the threat posed by the chikungunya virus and it had also appealed for PAHO’s intervention to aid the management of the situation. The group has referred to the spread of the virus as “a serious health crisis” that is being downplayed by the Ministry.

Persaud yesterday acknowledged that the spread of the virus was of concern for the ministry and that it also posed