Doctor reports dengue in Old Harbour, but gov’t says no confirmed case in parish

Well known general practitioner Dr Orlando Thomas just over a week ago made the revelation to Old Harbour News after two patients – both residents of Old Harbour – visited his office within hours apart on the same day displaying symptoms of the disease. Blood samples were taken from these patients and tested using a rapid dengue test kit Dr Thomas said.

However, the St Catherine Health Services, the state’s local governing body for health in the parish, said of the 41 suspected cases received to date they are yet to record any “confirmed case of dengue” from the government laboratory.

Speaking to Old Harbour News this afternoon Dr Francia Prosper Chen, medical officer for health at the St Catherine Health Services, said they do not recognize independent testing for dengue outside of the government laboratory.

“We know that there are some labs that will do the test but we cannot accept that, it has to be from the national public health lab of the health department,” said Dr Chen.

“We don’t use those results because the ministry with the national public health lab has to validate those kits. I cannot speak to the kits, but I know that it is there and it is being used,” she added.

Persons contracting dengue is a real possibility as the country is “still in outbreak mode”. However, the time period between testing a suspected case and confirmation seems to be where a lot of uncertainty exists, in addition to testing methods being used by private doctors.

Blood samples are taken from individual suspects for testing at the government labs and are further retested for validation at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA). Samples labeled urgent are given priority.

Dr Chen is urging doctors who practice privately to report suspected cases of dengue.

“They should report and we urge them to report because we do need that type of information because it informs how we do our vector control,” she said.

The health ministry has allocated over $130 million geared towards implementing vector control mechanism across the island as well as to boost public education on the disease.

“The outbreak has not yet been declared over by the Ministry of Health, so we are still in outbreak mode.

“I don’t know if there’s any (confirmed cases) in the last week, I don’t think so, I would have been informed,” Dr Chen said.