Chief Medical Officer, Dr. David Johnson, has said that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has confirmed that there are no cases of the Hantavirus in Dominica.
In late November, the Ministry of Health (MoH) and Environment informed the public that it was awaiting confirmation of a preliminary test which indicated that one case of the unusual virus was detected in Dominica. It said that confirmatory tests were being done at the CDC in Atlanta.
Dr. Johnson has now said the tests have been negative and the disease has not even been present in the Caribbean in the recent past.
“In fact, the studies we have seen and working with our other reputable bodies, including the Pan American Health Organization, we have been able to confirm in fact there is no case that is circulating in the region, certainly between 1998 and 2016, 2017, ” he stated.
He explained there are a number of reasons for this which includes that the virus is transmitted by a mouse that is not found in the region.
“That is why when we got preliminary results with regards to the Hantavirus we had to seek confirmation from a reputable source, and the reputable source as we disclosed in our press release was the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and no one can doubt the reputation of the CDC…” Dr. Johnson remarked.
He said based on the results from the CDC, he is happy to report the tests were negative.
“So we can say with absolute certainty now that there was no case and I repeat, no case of Hantavirus which is circulating in Dominica,” Dr. Johnson stated.
Humans become infected with the Hantavirus through contact with rodent urine, saliva, or feces. Some strains can be fatal to humans and symptoms are similar to that of leptospirosis.
This is very good news. I was very concerned when the previous story came out. I knew Dominica did not nee a plague of this kind following the devastation posed by Hurricane Maria. I hope the party responsible for the pervious false positive and dissemination of information thereof, will be reprimanded.