Dengue fever is a public health problem which needs to be addressed and the health sector here has to consider whether to increase testing for dengue, Health Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said yesterday.
There has been an increase in the number of reported cases of dengue in the country over the last four years, he said, but stressed that the rise was not rapid. Ramsammy said increased capacity for testing is reflected in the cases being captured, but also pointed out that there is a genuine increase.
Dengue is a reportable disease, Ramsammy said yesterday, noting that every health official in the sector who is treating someone for dengue has a duty to report it. He said after the cases are reported the sector has a responsibility to conduct a verification process.
Reports of two recent dengue deaths have not been verified, he said yesterday, adding that the sector is aware of the reports but not of any actual dengue deaths.
The sector received an additional 12,000 tests for dengue this week. Ramsammy said the health sector’s budget would be consumed if every reported case of fever is tested for dengue. “I hope we don’t have an outbreak, but we do have transmitting dengue in the country”, he said.
He said some health officials are on the ground following the patterns and distributing products to help fight dengue in the city. Ramsammy said anyone who is saying they treated a recent dengue case and the patient subsequently died “must provide that evidence to us”.
Dengue surveillance in the health sector requires that every case being treated is reported. Ramsammy went to the figures and noted that based on the information provided over the last three years, weeks 1-24 are the weeks when the highest number of dengue cases is usually reported in the country then the numbers go down. For this year, he said the cases extended to the 26th week before the numbers took a dive.
“If people are not reporting dengue cases to us then they are doing a disservice to all the citizens of Guyana because how much we invest in a problem would depend on what the problem is”, he added. He said that if the reported numbers “go out of the roof” then it is likely that testing would increase across the country.
To date, he said the sector has spent three times more on dengue testing than it has in previous years. Ramsammy added that it is important to stay on top of the illness because the problem can get more serious.
