“The Zika Virus Will Come to Jamaica” Says Health Minister
The mosquito borne Zika virus has already been in confirmed in several countries including: Brazil, Chile (Easter Island), Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
According to Loop Jamaica, Health Minister Horace Dalley, while speaking at a Jamaica Employers Federation (JEF) breakfast event on Thursday, acknowledged that the Ministry of Health does not have the adequate resources to better equip the nation against vector control.
“I am saying to Jamaica: be prepared for the Zika Virus – it will come,” said Minister Dalley.
“I’m going to be very frank, we don’t have enough fogging machines to fog every single community in Jamaica,” Dalley contended.
The minister also pleaded with the general public to take swift action ahead of what could be a quick arrival of another outbreak.
“We as citizens must take the [necessary] precaution[s]. The impact of Chik-V was tremendous last year…let us not go there [again],” he added.
Last year 13 million man hours were lost as a result of a Chik-V (Chikungunya) outbreak, which reportedly led to economic losses of 6 billion dollars.
Source: Loop Jamaica