September 12, 2014 - Madam Speaker, on 17th December, 2013 during the Third Sitting of the Third Session of this Honourable House, I provided a Statement on the Chikungunya Virus. Today, I wish to provide a further update on its impact in the Territory and the steps being taken by the Ministry of Health and Social Development to address it.
Madam Speaker, on December 12, 2013, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) received notification of ten confirmed cases of locally acquired Chikungunya virus in Saint Martin (the French side). Since then, the Chikungunya virus has become endemic in the Caribbean region affecting most states in the region and spreading as far North as the Southern United States and as far South as Brazil. The first case was identified in the Territory late December 2013.
Madam Speaker, it bears repeating that Chikungunya is a viral disease, carried mainly by the Aedes aegypti mosquito that causes a dengue-like sickness. Symptoms include a sudden high fever, severe pain in the wrists, ankles or knuckles, muscle pain, headache, nausea, and rash. Joint pain and stiffness are more common with Chikungunya than with dengue fever which is a widely known mosquito carried infection. Madam Speaker, the symptoms appear between four to seven days after the bite of an infected mosquito and the majority of clinical signs and symptoms last three to ten days. Severe cases that require hospitalization, Madam Speaker, are rare.
Currently, there is no known vaccine or treatment for this condition, which has infected millions of people in Africa and Asia since the disease was first recorded in 1952.
Madam Speaker, the Ministry of Health, the Environmental Health Division, and the BVI Health Services Authority are working closely together to control and respond to the current outbreak. After the earlier outbreak in Jost Van Dyke which largely subsided, there has been increased reporting of cases over the last few weeks, particularly on Virgin Gorda. Local transmission of the virus is documented on all islands except Anegada. Unfortunately, Madam Speaker, due to the high case load around the region, samples are no longer being sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for confirmation.
Rapid testing for Dengue is available locally and soon rapid testing will also be available for Chikungunya. However, the treatment for both illnesses remains supportive as no specific treatment regime exists. Madam Speaker, I would like to remind the public that the measures used for controlling the spread of Chikungunya are the same as those applied for the control of dengue. The best way to protect yourself from Chikungunya and dengue is to avoid mosquito bites and to prevent mosquitoes breeding in and around your home and work environment.
Madam Speaker, the Ministry of Health and Social Development is therefore urging the public to inspect their homes and yards on a weekly basis for mosquito breeding sites. Members of the public can also protect themselves from mosquito bites by wearing protective clothing such as long-sleeved shirts and pants and by using insect repellents liberally. A number of information leaflets are available and messages continue to be sent out via various media, including social media, Madam Speaker.
The Ministry of Health and Social Development is also engaging community groups to assist in raising awareness and educating the public about the steps that they can take to eliminate Dengue and Chikungunya threats. The public is urged to facilitate and comply with any instructions given by the Environmental Health Division Staff, and in particular, members of the vector control team as they carry out their work.
The team will be fogging all school compounds daily, during early morning and evening hours, until all school premises have been treated. While fogging is useful to kill adult mosquitos, the principal actions required are the destruction of mosquito breeding sites and protection from mosquito bites in and around the places where we live, work, and play.
Madam Speaker, as part of the coordinated regional response to this disease, the Virgin Islands has increased its surveillance and has put systems in place to ensure that health care providers are updated on Chikungunya. As the Environmental Health Division continues its mosquito vector control activities, I once again, Madam Speaker, urge the public to cooperate with all efforts to control this outbreak.
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