The Caribbean Public Health Agency’s (CARPHA) acting director of surveillance, disease prevention and control, Dr Horace Cox, is reporting an exponential increase globally in suspected dengue cases.
During a media briefing yesterday at the Courtyard Marriot, Port-of-Spain, Dr Cox noted that reported suspected cases for this year have already exceeded last year’s numbers.
“We should really brace in 2024. It is likely that in 2024 it will surpass cases in 2023. Setting that aside, what we’ve seen from the data reported so far globally is that you have about a 200-fold increase in suspected dengue cases in 2024 as of the first six months compared to a similar period in 2023.”
The CARPHA official explained that as dengue cases surged, the death toll as a result of the illness also climbed. “What I could confirm also is that based on the data we have been looking at not only regionally, subregionally, but also internationally, we’ve seen a concomitant rise in deaths, and there is a reason for that: the more persons become infected, the greater the likelihood of them complicating to be either hospitalised or some may progress to the stage of dying.”
Dr Cox noted the importance of timely interventions to stem the spread of the mosquito-borne illness given other threats on the horizon.
“When we accept that forecast, that was made perhaps last year or at the start of this year, and we add that to what is happening with Hurricane Beryl, we could understand how impactful it could be if we don’t really mobilise an effective response in time.”
Dr Horace’s report follows intensified efforts by local health authorities to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which has infected over 500 people with the virus. The Ministry of Health has so far reported five fatalities caused by dengue fever.
Dr Horace explained that shifts in temperatures and weather patterns were among the factors accounting for the surge in dengue cases.
“Some of what we’re seeing on the global level and regional level is tied to the climatic changes that we’ve been noting, and also, as a people, we do a lot of inter-island travel; we are endemic to the Aedes population.”
Dr Cox said while CARPHA was lending support to the early detection and prevention of dengue, the zika and chikunguna viruses also remained on its radar. “At the regional level, and when I say regional, I speak of the Americas based on the data that is available, and this is documented where you’re seeing a resurgence in zika cases and, to some extent, also chikungunya, and it is for the reason I explained that that immunity is weining, and as it weins, you have new pockets of susceptible populations.”
CARPHA aiding in
the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl
Dr Lisa Indar, CARPHA’s interim executive director, said the organisation has been working with impacted territories to mitigate health crises following the passage of Hurricane Beryl, which left a path of death and destruction. “Beryl affected at least ten of our CARPHA member states. Beryl destroyed more than 90 per cent of the islands.”
Additionally, there has been mass displacement of individuals, major damage to the property and essential infrastructure and multiple casualties. Both the Prime Ministers of Grenada, Dickon Mitchell and St Vincent and the Grenadines Dr Ralph Gonsalves, described the extensive damage wrought by the category 5 hurricane as Armageddon-like.
Dr Indar contended that as recovery efforts continued, “Overall Beryl has affected 1.2 million people across our impacted countries, with additional rainfall being forecasted from tropical eaves expected to hinder the relief efforts and exacerbate conditions.”
Dr Indar said the response post-Beryl necessitates a rapid and multi-disciplinary approach to which public health surveillance and response are vital. She cautioned that large numbers of displaced people in crowded shelters increase the likelihood of the spread of infectious diseases.
