Life
CARICOM formalizing recommendations to deal with Chikungunya and possible incidences of Ebola
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is formalizing recommendations to deal with any possible incidence of the Ebola virus and is also improving efforts to respond to the Chikungunya epidemic.
A CARICOM statement said that chief medical officers and other technical health experts from CARICOM member states met via video conference to rationalize the region’s response to the two diseases.
The meeting was convened by the CARICOM Secretariat in collaboration with the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA).
“Among draft proposals that were fleshed out at the meeting was the achievement of the core competencies cited in WHO’s International Health Regulations. Discussions additionally focused on the need to urge a calm but prudent response when applying the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation with regards to the Ebola virus – no restrictions on travel and trade in areas where the Ebola transmission has occurred,” the statement said.
It said the meeting also discussed the “urgent need to put in place isolation facilities and resources to permit barrier management of suspected or affected cases of Ebola”.
Meanwhile, the Director of the Pan American Health Organization, Carissa Etienne, has assured that there was a very low death rate from Chikungunya, despite the significant illness and disability it causes.
According to Etienne, Chikungunya has had a significant impact on productivity and the social and economic life of affected communities, and it was therefore critical to concentrate response efforts on vector reduction.
“It is a household mosquito (aedes aegypti) and all householders must become active in reducing the breeding sites inside and outside of their homes.
Etienne said multi-sectoral action was needed to ensure access to water, to avoid storage which encourages mosquito breeding. With regard to Ebola, she noted that the Pan American Health Organization has observed outbreaks in Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and three other African countries, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sengal, which have reported cases, but have contained the disease. -(CMC)