Regional Director of the Western Regional Health

Authority (WRHA), Errol Greene, says the Ministry of Health and Wellness is

providing the necessary resources to strengthen vector control in the western

parishes.

Fleet of vehicles

He said that the fleet of vehicles is being increased

with eight pickup trucks ordered to add to the eight already serving the

parishes.

“We are getting yet another 10 pickup trucks for the

region – three for St. James, three for Westmoreland, and two each for Hanover

and Trelawny,” Green said.

“These pickup trucks will be mounted with ultra-low

volume fogging machines, because they will be used only for vector [control]

purposes.”

He was addressing the St James Public Health Services

Vector Control Symposium, which was held at the RIU Montego Bay Resort on

Friday (November 1).

Public education and sensitisation

He noted that for St James, which is one of the larger

parishes in the region, 30 additional vector control workers have been engaged

under the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) programme.

“Approval was granted for the rental of additional

motor vehicles to transport workers and equipment to do vector control work,” Greene

said.

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He lauded the work of the St James Public Health

Department in carrying out public education and sensitisation, noting that

“even though we are doing so much, there is still a lot more to be done”.

Greene also said that the Ministry of Health and Wellness will be staging a town hall this month to discuss issues related to dengue fever in western Jamaica.