Sunday, September 28, 2014 | 9:19 PM
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson on Sunday night attempted to rally the citizenry in an all-out effort to check the rapidly spreading chikungunya disease.
“While the government must lead the process, citizens have a major role to play in the reduction of the spread of this disease,” Ferguson said in an address to the nation.
“It is therefore important for all of us to ensure that we are not harbouring this mosquito in our homes. Personal responsibility is going to be of utmost importance in the reduction of the spread of this disease,” Ferguson added.
“I implore every citizen to join us when we declare a national cleanup day,” he said. “Let us take charge of our health and restore national pride.”
The minister has come under fire in recent months over the handling of the outbreak, which he said Sunday night is expected to spike before it peters out. Members of the public have made repeated calls for him to relinquish his ministerial post over the issue. The Opposition Jamaica Labour Party was no less vocal in expressing dissatisfaction with the health ministry’s tackling of the disease.
But during his address Sunday night, Ferguson said authorities have been working assiduously to check the chikungunya outbreak for which preparation had been made for some two years.
He said that since June, “we have initiated a number of response measures”.
The minister said that those measures include: activities to identify and destroy breeding sites in over 484 communities, with some 50,887 premises inspected; 84,015 containers inspected for mosquito breeding of which 24,206 containers were treated; fogging carried out in 977 communities; active search for cases in communities which involved over 15,532 persons; and direct face-to-face public and community education conducted with some 60,000 people.
These activities, he said, continue daily.
He added also that there have been, and will continue to be, meetings with stakeholders on the way forward.
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Health minister moves to rally citizenry in Chik-V fight
