Flu outbreak!

fluThe Ministry of Health wishes to inform the general Public of an outbreak of Acute Respiratory Infections (Flu) in Dominica at this time.

The Ministry would like you to remain alert and protect yourself from getting the Flu.

The symptoms may present in two different ways:

Mild FluSevere Flu
CoughingProductive coughing
Running noseHigh fever
HeadacheBody chills
Low grade feverDifficulty breathing
Loss of appetiteGeneralized body pain
Feeling tiredChest pain

Here are some of the things you can do to protect yourself and others from getting the Flu:-
•    Wash your hands with soap and water more now than usual;
•    If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizers and rub your hands together very hard for a minute of more;
•    Avoid shaking hands and kissing;
•    Cover your mouth with a tissue when coughing;
•    Cover your nose with tissue when sneezing;
•    Throw away soiled tissue in a garbage bin after single use;
•    Avoid touching your face if your hands are not clean because cold and flu viruses enter your body through the eyes, nose and mouth;
•    If you are sick, stay away from crowds, young children and very elderly persons
•    Drink a lot of fluids: Juice, Water, Coconut water and soups;

In order to prevent any further spread of this flu, everyone  must take the necessary steps to protect yourselves, your families and the general public. The Ministry seeks the cooperation of the public in following the advice given.

Persons with the serious signs of the Flu are asked to visit their health center or doctor. However, most persons only suffer with mild symptoms and may not need to visit their doctor or health center.

We recommend that persons suffering from Diabetes, Heart Problems, Asthma, HIV/AIDS, and Cancer or taking Steroid Medications should contact your health care provider as soon as possible if you become affected by the Flu.

The Ministry informs the public that the FLU vaccine is available at all health facilities and when taken will prevent  people from becoming ill with the flu.

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41 Comments

  1. August 3, 2013

    Hello, this weekend is fastidious designed for me, because this point in time i am reading this great educational paragraph here at my residence.

  2. Concerned
    February 25, 2013

    I understand that the vaccine is causing death,why is that so? That is a major problem which the doctors and all other medical employees should solve.

    • Justice and Truth
      February 26, 2013

      I heard about the vaccine which is why I will not take it. A few people in Toronto died after taking the flu vaccine. When discussing this with a friend, I was told that a nurse, originally from the Philippines said after being vaccinated, drink a glass of water. This should flush out whatever toxin is in the blood which could cause illness and/or death.
      In addition, some people who got the vaccine for the first time caught a bad cold and bronchitis. Hearing this, I am not encouraged to get it.
      Have a good breakfast. Start with fibre: cream of wheat, oats, granola, shredded wheat and wheat germ whichever you prefer. Then a slice or two of bread, a glass of orange juice or eat an orange or grapefruit.
      Eat fruits. Mango is also recommended.
      Take Vitamins especially Vit. C and D.
      Drink plenty of water, approximately 6 to 8 glasses of water a day.
      There are other fruit juices. Some of them are concentrated or other boxed and bottled juices. These are not my preference. I prefer the real fruits.
      Ample sleep and rest are important.
      If you reside in a cold climate, dress appropriately for the weather.
      It is said a humidifier is necessary. Some homes are equipped with built-in, central humidifier in the furnace.
      The house/apartment should be approximately 65 degrees in winter. It should not be too hot. This could also dry the skin.
      It is stated that people get sick from indoors and not necessarily outdoors. This also includes the office.
      We can only try our utmost to avoid catching a cold.
      When you feel a cold coming on, take two tablets of Vitamin C. It is acidy. Therefore, do not take it on an empty stomach. You can drink milk with it.
      Herbal teas are recommended.
      Prior to or during your meal (whichever you prefer) always have a salad comprised of cucumber, green, red and yellow sweet peppers, leafy green lettuce and tomatoes. You could also have it in the evening; whichever time is appropriate that you prefer. These have health benefits.
      The Internet has a lot of health information on how to avoid a cold, how to cure it and if you have one what to take to help cure it quickly.
      We pray to God for good health. God bless!

  3. As if....
    February 25, 2013

    At this very moment, I have to individual at my office coughing and sneezing allover the place. One has no tissue, so she attempts to block her sneeze with her wide open palms, which make no sense, the other has a tissue in one had yet chooses to cough in the closed fist of the other hand, still no sense. I cannot understand why I should tell grown people to cover their blasted mouths properly. Sometimes when I do they get offended.

    If they practiced better hygiene that flu would be better controlled. Every day I pray over myself,take my vitamins, drink alot of water and juice, and drink garlic and ginger tea, that’s why I haven’t gotten the flu.

    People literally cough on me; when I get upset about about it they, they think I have a problem dealing with people.

    You have the flu keep ur germs to urself.

    • one
      February 25, 2013

      two*

    • Justice and Truth
      February 26, 2013

      I would have asked the one who did not have a tissue if she would like one or two and would give her a few (of course, if you had).
      I always keep a small pack of tissues with me. It is surprising that she did not ask a co-worker for one or two.
      These are important items that people should always have with them. Some of them do not consider carrying it. There are a few who carry tiny purses which can hold very little. Some women do not like to carry bigger purses. This is stupidity for small purses can hold very little. If women have a cold they should have a bigger box of tissues at their desk and a small one in their purse. They only cost some cents.

  4. hmmmm
    February 25, 2013

    this flu kills.. it killed a young man last nite plz take caution. :(

  5. trinidad james
    February 24, 2013

    bondia i dying

    • sigh!!!
      February 25, 2013

      we on samepage i flin like i dying too

  6. Annia
    February 24, 2013

    People take the good advise and lets protect our selves and others.

  7. February 24, 2013

    Thanks Guys. people who ride the buses and are coughing please put your head down and cough in your tissue or handkerchief not in your hands. touching doors money each other etc. stay home minimum 4 days is that okay health ministry. doctor have to state it when pass two days.

  8. DA/NY
    February 24, 2013

    Don’t cough on you hands, you should cough on you sleves of you shirt of blouse

  9. flu time
    February 23, 2013

    Now ministry putting alert out, I nearly die with that flu.

    Thank u Dr. McInytre for giving me meds. U saved me dat day!

  10. Pondera
    February 23, 2013

    Excellent. Early notice is one of the hall marks of good risk communication. The Ministry must be commended.

  11. Cancer Patient
    February 23, 2013

    To all those diagnosed with Cancer, please take extra care of yourselves. To all cancer survivors a simple flu can kill you if your immune system is not intact. Get going with your vitamin C. Drink a whole lot of fluids and please avoid walking in rain or being around huge crowds of people. At the work place make sure the work environment in conducive. The high levels of dusty environments, the air conditioning units,the constant interaction with the public. Stop hugging and kissing when you greet people. Give a hand shake. Make sure hands are washed regularly. Don’t take this flu lightly. It’s a killer flu. Be on guard.

  12. concerned dominican
    February 23, 2013

    I visited the health center last week and it was so, so crowded with sick people, babies, and toddlers. The doctor was alone and was himself feeling sick after being exposed himself and after encountering all these sick people. At The Roseau health center there was only one doctor. We can do better than that

  13. Solo
    February 23, 2013

    I applaud the efforts of the Ministry of Health to inform and addvise the public in this way – well done! The onus is now on the populace to take heed. Please protect yourselves, loved ones and others around you. Thank you!

    • Solo
      February 23, 2013

      Correction of typo: advise*

  14. Anonymous
    February 23, 2013

    people should take precaution.

  15. proud
    February 23, 2013

    Ministry kinda late though. Most people are getting over the flu now and have come up with their own method/s of treatment.

    • Justice and Truth
      February 24, 2013

      The Ministry may not have been previously notified. In any case they cannot be notified until a certain number of people got the flu. How else could the authorities know about it? I would think that when people began going to the hospital, only then was the Ministry alerted. This occurs everywhere in the world. Did you consider that? There are times you should not criticize prior to thinking beyond. You know, like putting on your thinking cap. :twisted:

  16. Ideall
    February 23, 2013

    good information I hope everyone follows the above
    instructions..thanks very much keep healthy

  17. Docteur-la
    February 23, 2013

    There are invitees who are now residents/denizens whose culture donot have this incorparated s a custom and they cough and spit like it were a competion.How do were handle them? These are some of the initiation of erosion of our culture in the not to distant future. Just an observation since their arrival. Something to consider when He CMO & the dept of Health give instructions on combating the FLU. Just my observation not my imagination

  18. Dominican/UK
    February 23, 2013

    As a Dominican Health Professional working outside of Dominica, reading the symptoms of this flu outbreak in Dominica, seems to me that this is the same symptoms for the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

    A British man infected with a new virus from the same family as SARS has died, health officials said on Tuesday, bringing the worldwide death toll from the previously unknown disease to six.

    February 19th, 2013
    Briton dies after contracting new SARS-like virus
    49
    The virus, called novel coronavirus or NCoV, was unknown in humans until it emerged in the Middle East last year. There have been 12 confirmed cases worldwide – including in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Britain – and half the patients have died.

    NCoV was identified when the World Health Organization issued an international alert in September 2012, saying a completely new virus had infected a Qatari man in Britain who had recently been in Saudi Arabia

    It “grows very efficiently” in human cells and suggests it is well-equipped for infecting humans, said Volker Thiel of the Institute of Immunobiology at Kantonal Hospital in Switzerland, who led the study

    of the first published papers on NCoV, scientists said on Tuesday that while it might have jumped from animals, it was already well adapted to infect humans and could penetrate the lining of passageways in the lungs and evade the immune system as easily as a cold virus could.

    This shows it “grows very efficiently” in human cells and suggests it is well-equipped for infecting humans, said Volker Thiel of the Institute of Immunobiology at Kantonal Hospital in Switzerland, who led the study.

    My fellow Dominica gone are the days when we did not have and could not research those information, also since the Minister of Health did not mention the name of this flu , one left to wonder, since all flu outbreak have it’s name

    • Justice and Truth
      February 24, 2013

      Thank you for the information. I thought that SARS was dead and gone and never to surface. This disease was scary. Approximately 40 people or more died in Toronto alone. Someone who traveled to Toronto from the Orient had it.
      It looks like this new disease is of the family of SARS.
      I reside in Toronto and I would think that this news would have already spread to Canada, that the Minister of Health would notify Canadians about it. I will contact my MPP – Member of the Legislature about it. The provincial government in each province is responsible for such matters and for informing the public. There are times they do not want to scare the public or prematurely. Even though it is not yet in Canada (I hope not), they should alert us. After all people travel to and from the UK and elsewhere. This is how the disease is spread.

    • Annica Alethea
      February 24, 2013

      I saw it coming and it’s a pity that the Ministry of Health put on the alert after the Carnival when all the harm has been done.
      There is no doubt that the virus came from the north American visitors who came for carnival.
      This is the price that we pay.
      After more than 40 years of resisting flu epidemics, this one knocked me flat with fever.

  19. pop
    February 23, 2013

    everyone in dominica have the flu we boy what a ting

    • Justice and Truth
      February 24, 2013

      Console yourself; :) not only in Dominica; elsewhere in the world as also in Canada – Toronto. I am praying that I do not get it. Or let us say I hope. I take extra Vitamins and not only at this time. Vitamin C and D are excellent. Do not overdo it. Know that socializing can be a contributing factor to catching the cold. Take care of yourself. It will pass.

  20. "O" STRESS"
    February 23, 2013

    If your situation is severe stay home from work,drink some ginger,spice,bwaden leaf tea,straight from the old school of medicine it works all the time.

  21. anonymous2
    February 23, 2013

    Did someone spray something on DA or have a lot of people taken the flu vaccine or have some infected individuals landed on the island? Those are the ways that you get the flu.

    • Justice and Truth
      February 24, 2013

      I read in a Toronto Caribbean papers that the T & T PM was concerned about that for the carnival season. It was stated that those who showed signs of the flu, once landed, would be medically examined. The government would determine whether to allow them in or not. So far I have not read anything more about that.

  22. donna
    February 23, 2013

    just to say that if any one experiances chest pain, please do not ignore it even if you have flu, please seek medical attention straight away if you have any central chest pain that radiates down your arms, into your neck or jaw or travels through to your back, as chest pains are also signs of heart problems.

  23. MAHAUT
    February 23, 2013

    What happened bla ballen hit man. Stay hydrated plenty of rest you will be fine. Also vitamin C and cover when you cough, wash your hands and sanitize.

  24. Justice and Truth
    February 22, 2013

    Excellent advice and warning from the Ministry of Health. Carnival is over and those germs are floating around in DA.
    Many people overseas “in the cold country of Canada” got the flu especially senior citizens. I hate to state that quite a few of them died from the flu; also last year. Winter is not yet over.
    At this time, to my knowledge, one baby in Toronto died from the flu. This occurred quickly. The mother brought the baby who was not feeling well (no sign yet of the flu) to the doctor. He stated to her to get some rest and drink fluids (words to that effect). The following morning the father went to wake the baby up since both parents are working and had to prepare for work and to take the baby to a baby-sitter, sadly, the father found the baby dead.
    This is an advice for parents and the medical profession. Do not take either the flu or a temperature lightly. At first it appears mild and in a few days it gets worse.
    We overlook that money is the dirtiest of all. Therefore, when you handle money, be it at home, wash your hands. It also carries germs. It is so easy for us to touch money and then touch our faces. As soon as I get in, the first thing I do is to wash my hands.
    Ever since Toronto had Sars which was an epidemic and some people died from it, we were given warnings about ensuring that we wash our hands frequently.
    The Archdiocese of Toronto issued directives that we should not shake hands in Church. As germs spread, the container for the Holy Water at the front and back of the Church, of the inside doors were taken out but they were returned as soon as the epidemic was over. To this day, there is a bottle with antiseptic lotion at the entrance of the Church for parishioners to use prior to entering the Church. It is optional. There is one for the Eucharistic Ministers near the Altar which they use prior to giving Holy Communion to the congregation.
    I reside close to the Church, thank God. Therefore, I do not use this lotion because the last thing I do prior to leaving for Church is washing and creaming my hands. Few people shake hands. I have since ceased doing so.
    It is said that computer keyboards are also the dirtiest. I would think that money is worse since it passes from thousands of hands to hands.
    Thank God those who reside in Dominica are not residing in Canada, U.S. or Europe of all. Germs are many in those countries, touching doors, elevators while commuting to work for those who take buses and subways.
    We also get seasonal colds. It is too much to mention at this time but this gives you an indication of what we have to put up with in these lands. We have to be strong in order to avoid the flu/colds. This has much to do with the immune system.
    The government has emphasized that we should vaccinate annually prior to winter so as to avoid the flu/cold. This is another story. I have not taken any and do not plan to do so.
    Follow the advice of the Ministry of Health. Precaution is better than cure. In addition, it is important to get sufficient rest/sleep. Keep your immune system healthy/strong. Bathing in the sea (salt water) could be therapeutic. I hope that this flu will not be a bad one and will soon pass.
    Someime ago during a relevant conversation I told someone when we resided in Dominica in those days, we did not catch colds. If we did it was an extremely mild one. I recall we would call it “fresh cold.” We did have other epidemics as measles, mumps, etc. but never this type of cold with fever and coughing. At times when I speak to some people in DA they stated that they have a cold. It is surprising to me for a tropical country. Times have changed. I do realize that today people travel and also visit. This accounts for the cold/flu being spread from country to country overseas and to the islands. The virus is in the air and what we call ‘airborne’.
    Therefore, fellow Dominicans, please take care. Treat yourself well according to the advice of the Ministry of Health. I wish all of you well. God bless!

  25. Yam Babawoolais
    February 22, 2013

    People protect yourself from this Geo Ferna pap cause that flu deadly.

  26. thanks alot
    February 22, 2013

    i would like to say a special THANK YOU to the Ministry of Health for their concern and for giving this information and i am sure to take it into consideration :-P

  27. st joe massive
    February 22, 2013

    that flu not easy … that well take me

  28. Real talk
    February 22, 2013

    People if you have it stay home and employers you also try and understand…the worse thing for me is having to deal with sneezing, coughing or a runny nose at work whether it be a co-worker or customer that just gives me the creeps especially when it comes to front line staff..(Now that just aint customer service)

  29. Buzzz
    February 22, 2013

    Remember when you are in church people cough in their hands then shake to offer the sign of peace
    remember you are passing gems. When someone do not shake hands do not feel offended be grateful..

  30. Annica Alethea
    February 22, 2013

    This is the price that we pay for Carnival

    • yay-z
      February 24, 2013

      ou tow sot

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