Six children died from dengue during recent surge- Health Minister

Six children died over the past few weeks after they were infected with dengue, Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony said on Monday.

“Since we’ve seen the outbreak here, six children died at the Georgetown (Public) Hospital.

“It’s something that we have to treat very seriously,” Dr. Anthony told the News Room on the sidelines of an event in Region Six (East Berbice- Corentyne).

On Sunday, he confirmed that two children who were infected with dengue and were receiving care in the Georgetown hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) passed away.

Dr. Anthony could not immediately state how many adults also passed away after being infected with dengue in recent weeks but he highlighted that the Americas have seen a surge in dengue cases over the past several weeks.

Guyana has not been spared; the country recorded more than 3,500 cases for the year so far with at least 2,169 cases still active based on statistics the News Room obtained on Friday.

Because of the surge in dengue cases, Dr. Anthony said fogging exercises are being done across the country. He also noted that “literally thousands” of testing kits were distributed to regional health authorities.

“We’ve improved the diagnostics which has allowed us to monitor what’s going on.

“The regions have to report on all cases so that we can see a picture of what’s happening in the country (but) I think now it’s on the decline,” Dr. Anthony said.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease and its symptoms include high fevers, head and body aches and nausea.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said these increased infections are, in part, linked to global warming. Increased temperatures are said to be conducive for the breeding of the Aedes aegypti mosquito which spreads the disease and thrives in stagnant water.