KINGSTON, Jamaica — Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr Winston De La Haye is alerting the public to a higher than usual number of cases of dengue being detected by the Ministry of Health at this time.,

As at the week ending February 20, 2016, there were 23 cases of dengue diagnosed, resulting from the ministry’s increased active surveillance for the Zika virus (ZIKV).

The Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same mosquito that transmits chikungunya and ZIKV, transmits dengue.

Symptoms include pain behind the eyes, joint and muscle pain, weakness, fever and possibly a rash.

The ministry is urging people to protect themselves from mosquito bites even if they are experiencing symptoms so that they prevent transmission to their family members.

This can be done by using repellent containing DEET, wearing long-sleeved clothing as much as possible, sleeping under a mosquito net and meshing windows and doors to prevent mosquitoes from entering the home.

The Ministry of Health said it is also important to ensure that there is little opportunity for mosquitoes to breed.

“Despite the efforts over the last few months, several communities still have high levels of mosquito breeding,” the ministry said in a news release Saturday.

The Ministry of Health is again calling on residents to take action by destroying mosquito-breeding sites.

People can destroy mosquito-breeding sites by looking for anything around the home, school, churches, and business places that may collect water and either cover it, keep it dry or dispose of it. Repair leaking pipes and outdoor faucets, cut the grass short and trim shrubbery, clear roof gutters and eaves to prevent water from settling and fill in and drain any low places in the yard such as areas where there are usually puddles when it rains.

Residents are also being encouraged to join the Ministry of Health and its stakeholders for the National Cleanup Day today (February 20, 2016), dubbed “Operation: Mosquito Search and Destroy”.

The team will start in Old Braeton then to Reid’s Pen in Portmore then move to Rivoli in Spanish Town, St Catherine.

There is to date one case of Zika confirmed in the island.