(loopslu.com) – As of October 24, 2020, Saint Lucia recorded 888 confirmed and 365 suspected Dengue Fever cases.
To date, Saint Lucia has only recorded three confirmed dengue-related deaths.
The age range for reported cases was from 3 weeks to 94 years old. The 5 -14 years age group accounted for 35% of all cases, followed by the 15 – 24 years age group and the 25 – 49 years age group with 21% of the cases for each group. Two hundred and fifteen (215) of the confirmed Dengue cases were hospitalized.
All health regions continue to be affected by the occurrence of dengue. However, the highest number of cases confirmed continues to be in the northern part of the island. Castries accounted for 28% of the cases, Gros-Islet 19% and Babonneau 8% of cases. Vieux Fort accounted for 11%, while Micoud and Dennery each accounted for 8% of cases.
Between October 11 and October 24, 2020, new cases were confirmed in the Micoud and Vieux-Fort districts.
To date, two strains of dengue viruses, DENV3 and DENV2 have been identified as being in circulation in Saint Lucia during this outbreak.
In its mild form, Dengue Fever may present with fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains and a red itchy rash.
There are several warning signs that persons need to be aware of. These include:
– Intense and continuous abdominal pain
– Persistent vomiting (3 or more episodes in an hour)
– Bleeding from the gums or nose, in the urine or in vomit, or dark colored stool.
– Restlessness or drowsiness
– Enlarged liver
Persons presenting with these symptoms should visit their health care provider.
The public is reminded that Dengue Fever can be controlled by reducing or eliminating your risks of mosquito bites. This can be achieved by:
– Eliminating mosquito breeding sites in and around our homes by discarding all open containers with stagnant water on a regular basis,
– Using insect repellent, which may be applied directly to the skin, clothing or mosquito nets.
– Wearing long clothing