By Admin. Updated 9:42 p.m., Monday, August 26, 2024, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
School leaders across St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) are being encouraged to allow students to wear long light-coloured clothing to school as the nation grapples with a dengue outbreak.
The new academic year for most students is set to begin on September 2, unless the education ministry changes the date as some schools are still in need of repair while others have been used to house hurricane evacuees after the passage of Hurricane Beryl on July 1.
In an August 26 press release, the Ministry of Education and National Reconciliation said it is working closely with the Ministry of Health, Wellness, and the Environment to address the ongoing Dengue Fever outbreak in the country, and it made several recommendations to school leaders.
“School leaders should allow students to wear light-coloured long pants/tights and long-sleeved tops,” the ministry stated as one of several recommendations.
It is not the first time the ministry has encouraged school leaders to allow students to wear long light-coloured clothing in response to dengue. In November 2021, a similar measure was put in place in response to rising dengue cases.
The education ministry’s announcement on Monday (August 26, 2024) comes as the health ministry has declared a dengue outbreak with a growing number of confirmed cases.
“The Surveillance Committee of the Ministry of Health reports that the current increase in Dengue Fever cases was noted in May 2024 and was declared an epidemic in July 2024. There is now a total of 542 laboratory confirmed cases of Dengue Fever in St. Vincent and the Grenadines as of 22 August, 2024,” the ministry said.
“The cases of Dengue Fever have been reported in all health districts, with the greatest number in Calliaqua, Kingstown and Pembroke. Most persons are in the age group of 0-33 years.
“The Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which carries the Dengue Fever virus, typically bites during the daytime hours when persons are active. Therefore, bites can occur at home, work, and school,” the ministry said.
The ministry said that in view of the current situation, it is also recommending the following measures in an attempt to reduce the risk of Dengue Fever infection in schools.
It said school leaders should facilitate the reduction of the breeding of the mosquito at school by discarding stagnant water collected in containers around the school compound and by properly covering stored water.
It said school leaders should reduce rubbish and overgrown bush around the school, and encourage the use of insect repellent with careful consideration for those with respiratory challenges.
Open schools to allow increased effectiveness of fogging by the Vector Control Unit; encourage the Health and Family Life Education (HFLE) teachers to include Dengue Fever prevention in their lessons and inform the Health Nursing Supervisors of staff and students who have been diagnosed with Dengue Fever are among other recommendations made by the ministry to school leaders.
The Ministry of Education and National Reconciliation said it is committed to working closely with the Ministry of Health, Wellness, and the Environment to ensure the safety and well-being of all students and staff in St. Vincent and the Grenadines during this dengue fever outbreak.
“We urge all schools to implement the recommended measures and encourage parents and guardians to support these efforts by educating their children about Dengue prevention and ensuring that they take the necessary precautions,” the ministry said.
Dengue outbreak
On August 2, the health ministry announced that there was a dengue outbreak in SVG.
Back then, it said: “The Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment (MOHWE) has recorded a total of 119 Dengue Fever cases thus far in 2024, of which 23 were in June and 82 cases in July. Based on the epidemiological data, the number of lab confirmed cases of dengue fever has exceeded the threshold of the number expected indicating that there is a dengue fever outbreak in St Vincent and the Grenadines.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – CDC said:
The most common symptom of dengue is fever with any of the following, including aches and pains (eye pain, typically behind the eyes, muscle, joint, or bone pain), nausea, vomiting, rash, and any warning sign.
The CDC said mild symptoms of dengue can be confused with other illnesses that cause fever. Symptoms of dengue typically last 2–7 days, and most people will recover after about a week.
The CDC has also provided guidance on when dengue can be an emergency. It said:
Symptoms of dengue can become severe within a few hours. Severe dengue is a medical emergency.
About 1 in 20 people who get sick with dengue will develop severe dengue. Severe dengue can result in shock, internal bleeding, and death.
Iimmediately go to a local clinic or emergency room if you or a family member has any of the following symptoms, which include belly pain or tenderness vomiting (at least 3 times in 24 hours) bleeding from the nose or gums, vomiting blood, or blood in the stool, and feeling extremely tired or restless.
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