By Trudy Simpson, Staff ReporterHEALTH OFFICIALS are urging Jamaicans to increase hygiene practices such as hand-washing and their fluid intake as more gastro-enteritis cases emerge.
While hard-hit parishes such as Kingston and St. Andrew seem to be recovering from their gastro-enteritis outbreaks, officials are indicating that there have been increases in other parishes. Gastro has already killed nine children.
Director of family health services in the Health Ministry, Dr. Karen Lewis-Bell, said yesterday there have been slight increases of gastro, also called 'running belly', in parishes such as Portland.
"We are doing sampling in these areas," she said.
Preliminary figures provided by health officials indicate there were 892 cases recorded for children aged a few months to 12 years old, between the week ending July 26 and that ending August 2, 2003. Of this number, 453 are children under five years old.
A parish breakdown for the same period focusing on children under age five, shows that cases rose from one to 12 in Portland; from 26 to 40 in St. Elizabeth; in Trelawny, from six to nine and St. Thomas, from 10 to 16.
The breakdown for children aged five to 12 indicates that cases increased from 16 to 20 in St. Catherine; in St. Elizabeth, from 8 to 13; St. James, from 19 to 38 cases; Hanover, from three to five and St. Thomas, from three to six.
The Ministry has also recorded
17,560 gastro cases between January 1 and August 2, 2003, compared to 14,748 in the same period in 2002.
The outbreak prompted help from the US-based Centres for Disease Control (CDC), whose tests have confirmed local diagnosis that the rotavirus is responsible for this bout. More tests are to be carried out to determine the type of rotavirus, which will help officials decide which vaccine to use when one becomes available, Dr. Lewis-Bell said.
WASHING HANDS IMPORTANT
The rotavirus usually strikes during the cooler months and officials are investigating the reasons for its presence now. It is usually present in faeces and droplets and can be transmitted through food or person-to-person contact.
"People have to continue to wash their hands and continue to pay attention to hygiene. They have to make sure of the quality of their water," Dr. Lewis-Bell said. She added that if unsure of the water quality, persons should boil it or add a few drops of bleach before using it to drink or do their daily activities.
The Ministry of Health is also warning against the use of anti-diarrhoeal (such as Pepto Bismol) and anti-emetic medication in children and is reminding parents that children must receive fluids in small amounts frequently, and must be taken to see a doctor.
