St. Lca: Dengue watch

St. Lucians are being called upon to assist in preventing an outbreak of the dangerous Dengue virus, especially with the arrival of the rainy season. The approach by the Ministry of Health is to place more emphasis on sanitation as opposed to the use of chemicals.

The Ministry of Health has for some time now lessened on the use of chemicals to combat the dangerous Aedes Aegypti mosquito which carries and spreads the Dengue virus.

In order to declare war on the mosquitoes the Ministry is promoting better sanitary habits on the island. In the past the Ministry has used fogging techniques to reduce the number of mosquitoes but that practice according to Senior Environmental Health Officer responsible for vector management Adrian Madar has failed.

As one case of dengue has already been recorded Chief Medical Officer Dr. Stephen King says the onus is on members of the public to ensure they protect themselves from contracting the virus that causes the fever.

Dengue's not easy.