HEALTH Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says that despite reports from Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) that the Caribbean is seeing a surge in dengue cases, Jamaica has “passed the worst” and is moving towards the end of the outbreak declared last September.

According to PAHO, as of March 26, 2024 more than 3.5 million cases of dengue were recorded in the region. Additionally, more than 1,000 dengue-related deaths have been reported.

PAHO Director Jarbas Barbosa told a press briefing that the numbers indicate a “cause for concern” because this is three times more cases than were reported for the same period last year, which had a record year of 4.5 million cases.

On March 25 the Canadian High Commission, in response to the surge in dengue cases, issued a level one travel advisory for multiple countries in the region, inclusive of Jamaica, urging residents to take the necessary precautions to protect themselves from the virus.

In response Tufton, in an interview with the Jamaica Observer last week Wednesday, said he has “no issues if a country wants to notify its citizens for their own protection”. However, he noted that “the outbreak has been a hemispheric outbreak, and many other countries are doing a lot worse than us”.

He added that the tourism sector is “adequately aware” of the state of dengue in the country, and many hotels and villas have taken the necessary precautions to protect visitors by providing them with mosquito repellents, having periodic fogging, and protecting their water sources from mosquito breeding.

A report from Jamaica’s health ministry indicates that as of March 27, 2024 Jamaica recorded 11,101 suspected, probable, and confirmed cases of dengue. Dengue stereotype two is said to be the predominant strain, with higher case rates in the one- to four-year-old and five- to 14-year-old age groups. Higher case rates were also recorded in St Thomas, Trelawny, Hanover, and St James.

The report further stated that Jamaica remained above the epidemic threshold in February, but the figures for March are yet to be determined.

In response to the numbers stated in the report, Minister Tufton told the Sunday Observer that “we anticipated that the numbers would go up before they start going down, and they are now coming down”.

“What is important is, we think that we have passed the worst. Clearly we can’t become complacent but we have passed the worst — and what is important is that we have not as many fatalities as we did the last time we had an outbreak and the system has been responsive, both in the public education and home visits,” he added.

The ministry’s report indicates that there have been 23 deaths since the start of the outbreak compared to the 2019 outbreak when more than 80 deaths were recorded.

“I think that, generally speaking, the system has responded to the outbreak well — unlike in other jurisdictions — and certainly compared to the last outbreak. We have done better this time around, and we do expect that these [outbreaks] are going to be cyclical and that the cycles are going to be shorter,” said Dr Tufton.

“That is something we have been on record as saying because of issues related to climate change — more frequent droughts, and irregular rain. All of these contribute to a shorter cycle so it’s really just a matter of preparing, and confronting, and making the public aware and educated on what they should do,” he explained.

When asked about the hospitalisation rate for dengue the minister could not state the specific figures, however he said that “because of all the other threats out there — the flu, dengue, and COVID-19 — sometimes people have a combination of the above as well as chronic illnesses”.

He said this has created capacity issues “from time to time” but the ministry has been responsive in addressing the issue.

The World Health Organization explains on its website that dengue (break-bone fever) is a viral infection that is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female mosquitoes, primarily the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Other species within the Aedes genus can also act as vectors, but their contribution is secondary to Aedes aegypti.

Dengue is more common in tropical and subtropical climates.

Most people who get dengue won’t have symptoms but for those who do, the most common symptoms are high fever, headache, body aches, nausea and rash. Most will also get better in one to two weeks. Some people develop severe dengue and need care in a hospital.

In severe cases, dengue can be fatal.

You can lower your risk of dengue by avoiding mosquito bites, especially during the day.

Dengue is treated with pain medicine as there is no specific treatment currently.