Quarantine rooms at Nevis ports of entry as Swine Flu pandemic alert rises

CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – THE Ministry of Health in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) has set up quarantine rooms at the island’s official ports of entry even as the World Health Organization (WHO) raises the pandemic alert on the Swine Flu to level five. 

Minister responsible for Health, the Hon. Hensley Daniel told journalists at a press briefing on Friday (May 1) that quarantine rooms were established at the Vance Amory International Airport at New Castle and the sea ports at Long Point and Charlestown.
According to Minister Daniel, the rooms are equipped with cots and bio-hazard suits, so persons returning from areas where there has been an outbreak of flu can immediately be screened. 

The quarantine rooms are part of the government’s efforts to step up surveillance at the ports. Surveillance teams, which already consisted of heightened awareness by Port Health Officers, now include a nurse at Vance Amory International Airport for every incoming flight. 

Other actions taken by the NIA include the establishing of a fever room at the Alexander Hospital, and the setting up of a public education series – by the health promotion unit – targeting the Parent Teacher’s Associations. 

Minister Daniel also revealed that Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Patrick Martin, has ordered a quantity of anti-retroviral medication from the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), the Latin America and Caribbean arm of the WHO. 

Health Disaster Coordinator Nicole Slack-Liburd, who was also present at the press conference, said the order was calculated for 25 percent of the population at an attack rate of 25 percent over a five-day period. 

According to Minister Daniel, this is in preparation for a worst case scenario. He however emphasised that basic hygienic measures like washing hands carefully and completely before and after meals, as well as after using the bathroom, would create greater difficulty in transmission. 

He said children at school are particularly vulnerable in the event of an outbreak and urged staff and students to exercise as much caution as possible in observing the basic hygiene practices. 

The Minister sent a reminder that Nevis is part of a network which includes the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) and PAHO, so the island is not isolated from the institutions that manage and monitor health care in the region.

Slack-Liburd also revealed that PAHO has organised daily sessions at 12:00 p.m., using the illuminate software, where they have real time discussions and updates with member nations as part of its virtual education programme.

Although no cases have been discovered in the Federation, at the time of writing there were reports of suspected cases in Belize, Barbados, the Bahamas and Grenada.