BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - DESPITE confirmed cases among children at the Joseph N France General Hospital, health officials on St. Kitts are not yet sounding the alarm about a possible outbreak of Gastroenteritis on the island.
Concerns were expressed that there is a possible outbreak among children which sounded alarm bells among parents, but Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hazel Laws has put those fears to rest.
While responding to a question at last evening’s (Mar. 2) NEOC media brief, Dr. Laws intimated that the numbers are at the level that they are accustomed to, and it is currently on par with expectations for this time of the year.
“Every week, the Ministry of Health collects data from the hospitals, and we call it syndromic surveillance, whereby we monitor the number of children that present with gastrointestinal symptoms. And it is usual to have a peak this time of the year, and so at this time of the year we are seeing a few cases but it is not an outbreak,” explained Dr. Laws.
The ailment causes diarrhoea and vomiting among those who are infected.
