Headlines:
| More malaria cases |
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| Thursday, 06 March 2008 | |
 New
cases of malaria have surfaced in Jamaica. Following a lull during the latter part of last year the Ministry of Health has confirmed that three men from Christian Pen in St. Catherine have been diagnosed with the disease in the past week. It is reported that there were two other cases in Kingston earlier this year. However, the Health Ministry said there was no need for alarm. Director of Health Promotion and Protection Dr. Eva Lewis-Fuller said sporadic cases will pop up as efforts to eliminate the disease from Jamaica continue. "At this point we are continuing the vector control programmes, that is finding breeding sites for the anopheles mosquito and also carrying out the spraying to kill the adult mosquitoes. We are taking the precautionary measures to prevent any spread from this small cluster and the situation will be under control," she said. Malaria symptoms include intermittent fever, chills, headaches, nausea and muscle pain. Just under 400 cases of the disease were reported following an outbreak in December 2006. Most of these cases were found in Kingston and St. Andrew. In the meantime, Dr. Lewis-Fuller said the Ministry had intensified its vector control programme in Christian Pen. "We have initiated intense vector control activities and fever surveillance activities. Meaning we're going from house to house asking question about persons who had a fever in the past few months and testing them to see if any have been carrying the malaria parasite. We also carry out treatment as found necessary," she said. |