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The Ministry of Health and Wellness has confirmed a dengue fever outbreak in Barbados.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Kenneth George, disclosed that the threshold was reached at the end of September, where 518 cases were recorded compared to the same period in 2022, when there were 241 cases. The Ministry of Health and Wellness classifies a case of dengue fever as both suspected and confirmed.

Of the 40 confirmed cases of dengue for the year, 28 were recorded in September.

“These recent increases signal the start of a dengue fever outbreak in Barbados in September 2023. There were no confirmed cases in 2022,” the Chief Medical Officer stated.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has also advised that there have been outbreaks in Martinique and Guadeloupe in the Eastern Caribbean, with dengue virus serotype 2 resulting in some hospitalisations.   There have also been recorded rising cases in the OECS, including Grenada. The World Health Organization recently indicated that increased cases of mosquito-borne disease were likely in Europe, the United States of America and Africa, as a result of climate change (warmer, wetter and less reliable climate).

Dengue fever is an acute mosquito-borne febrile illness caused by infection with one of the four known dengue serotypes.  It is endemic in Barbados with occasional outbreaks.

The public is reminded of the symptoms, which include headaches, muscle and joint pains, vomiting and a characteristic skin rash. Most cases are self-limiting and recovery generally takes two to seven days.

In severe cases, haemorrhagic symptoms and organ failure can occur, which may, on occasion, result in shock and death. The likelihood of adverse outcomes occurs when there are multiple strains circulating. The Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory has advised that serotypes 1, 2 and 3 are circulating in Barbados.

Dr George urged members of the public to take immediate protective actions. These include:

• Source reduction – removal of sites and receptacles where stagnant water can collect. For example, the overflow dishes of plant pots in homes, plant cuttings and discarded tyres,
• using mosquito repellent on the skin,
• wearing light-coloured, long-sleeved shirts and long pants, particularly during peak biting times – dusk and dawn,
• using mosquito nets over infant beds, cribs, carriers and strollers,
• and installing window and door screens to keep out mosquitoes.

Additionally, Dr George advised persons who have an unexplained fever or exhibit any of the other symptoms mentioned above, to seek medical attention.  A blood test will be required for confirmation of dengue fever.

The Chief Medical Officer said that the Ministry of Health and Wellness will use the location of reported suspected and confirmed dengue cases to inform its fogging campaign. He further advised that any unusual increases in mosquito sightings should be reported to the environmental health department of the nearest polyclinic. To date, there have been no deaths attributed to dengue fever.

(BGIS)

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President of the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP) Dr Lynda Williams is suggesting that the revenues collected from the 20 per cent sugar-sweetened beverage excise tax and the soon-to-be-implemented tax on products high in salt content be used specifically within the health sector.

She told Barbados TODAY she would prefer if the money collected by the government from those taxes be set aside specifically to boost the budget for healthcare, rather than be placed into the Consolidated Fund – the government account into which all revenues are paid and from which all spending is made.

“If we just put it in the general funds and hope that you can increase your health fund, that most likely will not happen,” the prominent doctor said.

“My feeling about all those things is that it works as long as the money that is collected from this goes towards health expenditure. If you are just putting on a tax and put it in the general fund as just another collection of taxation, and you hope that it pans out to be more expenditure for health, that is less significant than knowing that [based] on this revenue, this is how much to increase health expenditure by.”

Barbados has one of the highest rates of overweight and obese populations within Latin America and the Caribbean, with about 30 per cent of children considered overweight and 14 per cent obese.

About one in every three Barbadian adults is considered overweight, and a similar number is obese.

In an effort to help reduce the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages among Barbadians and control non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, the government introduced a 10 per cent excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in 2015. This was designed to generate in excess of $10 million in its first year.

Effective April 1, 2022, the Mia Mottley administration increased the excise tax on sweetened drinks to 20 per cent.

Dr Williams said she supported the tax measure but stressed that it was important for the government to know exactly how much was being collected and put that towards the development of the health sector.

The government is currently in the process of reviewing a draft policy for similar taxation on products high in salt content. This could be ready for implementation as early as the first quarter of next year.

“We have had the discussion about sugar taxes and we have implemented sugar-sweetened beverage taxes; now there is the discussion about salt…. Taxes have been shown in other countries to cause a reduction in spending when people are purchasing,” said Williams.

A joint University of the West Indies and Cambridge University study released in 2019 concluded that Barbadians were buying fewer sweet drinks and getting more bottled waters and non-sugar alternatives.

It showed that consumption dropped by some 10 per cent one year after the tax was implemented, when compared to two years before.

marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb

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Relatives of affected children go from one center to another, searching for beds and locating the best doctors. According to official data, there is a slight decrease in hospitals that have been more saturated with patients, but the population indicates that they cannot find beds.

“I will ask for discharge from this clinic, if my daughter does not improve, will take her to another center,” said the mother of a teenager diagnosed with dengue.

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Situation
The Plaza de la Salud General Hospital had 29 patients admitted 12 hours ago; nine were waiting for beds in the emergency. This is the third hospital that has received the most patients with dengue fever. The Hugo Mendoza Pediatric Hospital has held first place. Yesterday afternoon, 82 minors were admitted; the emergency has a high demand. However, pediatricians insist that not everyone who comes to the emergency with a fever is dengue, as patients with influenza and other respiratory viruses have also increased.

The Robert Reid Cabral pediatric hospital had 58 minors admitted, while the Marcelino Velez Santana hospital reported 20. The Jaime Mota Hospital in Barahona had 20 admissions, and the Arturo Grullon Hospital had another 20 children. Dengue fever is also affected by the disease.

Warning signs
Firm and persistent abdominal pain; vomiting more than three in one hour, more than six in two hours; mucosal bleeding, mainly in the gums; edema; drowsy or irritable young children; hepatomegaly; hypotension (they stand up and get dizzy) and increased hematocrit, said Dr. Virgen Gomez, pediatric infectious disease specialist.

Symptoms
Dengue has symptoms that lead the family and the physician to think of dengue: the abrupt onset of fever, headache, body aches, vomiting and diarrhea, and rash.

Provinces
Some 25 provinces have presented more cases, with the municipality of Santo Domingo Norte having the highest incidence. This is why the Hugo Mendoza hospital authorities were forced to open more than 100 beds.

They have had up to 106 patients admitted. Santo Domingo, the National District, Barahona, La Vega, and San Cristobal have a high disease incidence.

The age groups that have been infected the most are 4 and 19 years old, but adults have also been infected, it has been proven.

It is an endemic disease. The virus is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

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