-23 cases confirmed
Before the end of this year, Guyana would be ready to test for the H1N1 virus and results would be known in a timely fashion, according to Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy.
Ramsammy told reporters during a press briefing yesterday that the country would no longer be “obligated” to send results to be tested overseas before the end of the year.
Guyana acquired the PRC equipment to test for H1N1 last month and it was installed at the National Public Health Lab. The equipment was secured from the US using PEPFAR funds, but the actual procurement was done by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).
Meanwhile, giving an update on the prevalence rate of the flu, the minister said that up to Tuesday night there were 23 confirmed cases out of the 140 persons tested country wide. There are still 14 outstanding cases remaining.
The minister said Guyana is one of the few countries that continue to test all persons who reach the criteria of “index of suspicion,” noting that since many countries have overwhelming cases, they only test persons who are severely ill or who have died.
Ramsammy also announced that by December 15, Guyana would receive some 70,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine purchased by PAHO with more expected to come later. The minister noted that there is need for persons to be vaccinated even as he hinted that the prevalence rate may increase since Guyana is yet to reach the peak of the flu season.
PAHO, through a revolving fund, was able to secure the vaccines after putting out a bid for the Caribbean and Central and South American region. The revolving fund was able to put in a procurement order for 200M doses of vaccines and various producers submitted proposals to fulfill the request by PAHO.
Ramsammy, at an earlier press conference, had said that if Guyana is to meet a level of immunisation that is going to cover most of the population, around 500,000 of the H1N1 vaccines would be needed and not the 240,000 doses that would be made available to the country.
The number of vaccines required depends on the dosage per person. He had said that in some instances, one dose has been recommended per person while other suggestions have pointed to two doses.
Since a single dose of the vaccine costs US$7 dollars, Ramsammy pointed out the budget would be strained by $700-800M in procurement costs if Guyana decides to make purchases on its own. Due to the limited doses, he had indicated that the health sector would identify vulnerable groups of persons to target among the initial groups to be immunised. He cited children under the age of 5 years, pregnant women, the elderly and persons with certain existing health conditions.
Additionally, he said health care providers also have to be considered as vulnerable because their occupation puts them at risk.
According to Ramsammy, H1N1 has been affecting persons here between the ages of 15 and 40 years. Immunisation is expected to begin as soon as the vaccines arrive and a mass vaccination campaign is expected to kick off.
