By Desrine McTair. Updated 11:30 p.m., Friday, June 30, 2023, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment wishes to encourage persons to take
all the necessary precautions during this carnival season to protect themselves from
infectious diseases including Dengue, influenza, COVID-19 Virus and Leptospirosis.
In a press release today (June 30), the Ministry of Health said, for this year, SVG has recorded seventy-four (74) confirmed cases of influenza, thirteen (13) confirmed cases of Dengue fever, one hundred and two (102) cases of COVID-19 Virus and thirteen (13) confirmed cases of Leptospirosis.
Influenza (flu) and COVID-19 are highly contagious viral infections of the respiratory tract
that can cause severe illness with life-threatening complications. Typically affecting people
of all ages, these diseases can spread when an infected person coughs and or sneezes. Some
symptoms are high fever (38°C or more), dry cough, sore throat, body aches and fatigue.
Other symptoms include chills, aches behind the eyes, loss of appetite, vomiting and
diarrhea, the press release stated.
Dengue is mosquito borne illness that is caused by the bite of an infected mosquito.
Persons are encouraged to seek care early from their health care provider if they are
experiencing fever accompanied with nausea, vomiting, rash or aches and pains (eye pain,
typically behind the eyes, muscle, joint, or bone pain).
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease, spread through contaminated fluids from rodents such
as rats and mongooses, that affects humans and animals. Symptoms associated with
Leptospirosis include, high fever, headache, chills, muscle aches, vomiting, jaundice (yellow
skin and eyes), red eyes, abdominal pain, diarrhea and rash. Some infected persons,
however, may have no symptoms at all, the press release further stated.
The Ministry of Health says it wishes to inform persons who are experiencing any of these signs and symptoms to seek medical attention from your district health care team or their private healthcare provider.
Take precautionary measures such as hand washing, wearing a face mask, maintaining physical distancing, keeping your surroundings clean and reducing mosquito breeding sites to reduce the spreading or contracting of these and other diseases, said the Ministry of Health.
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