Chief Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health Dr. David Johnson has stated that the development of a national action plan for mosquito control is to be implemented under the Ministry of Health and Environment.
He was speaking Thursday morning at the National Consultation on Mosquito-Borne Diseases and Epidemics held in the APU Conference Room at the Princess Margaret Hospital.
Johnson said that taking control of vector-borne diseases is something that has priority within the Ministry and Dominica by extension.
“The control of vector-borne diseases and epidemic is a national priority and indeed a national development issue. Therefore measures to prevent and reduce the impact of mosquito-borne diseases require an all- society approach,” he said.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Helen Royer, stated that under the Vector Control Policy, there must be particular approaches taken.
“The development of a vector control policy, our guidelines, and standards will therefore, require a national response, which must be multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary,” she said.
According to Royer, the desired outcomes will only become a reality if the public is on board.
“The success of this plan will be determined by how well the populace is prepared and responds,” she said.
She stressed that the “entire society must be involved” and that the Effective Community Approach is needed.
“The onus is on everyone to reduce mosquito-breeding sites around the home, school, institutions, workplaces and communities,” she stated.
Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health Ivor Stephenson, on behalf of Minster for Health and Environment Kenneth Darroux, said that the actions of the ministry represent government’s continued actions to improve public health.
“The objectives of this consultation represents government’s continued commitment to improving public health through the development and implementation of sound strategies, and actions and by fostering greater participation and partnership with various stake holders,” he said.
According to him, these strategies include the reduction of vector habitats.
He called out to the audience and listeners to “increase activities to prevent future outbreaks” of vector-borne diseases.
“The fight against vector-borne diseases is everybody’s business, not just that of the Ministry of Health and the environment. That being said, I know that we shall take our responsibility very seriously and work towards reducing the threats of these diseases on our country,” he remarked.
The consultation was organised by the Ministry of Health and Environment in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organisation.
We really do need a Vector Control Policy for Dominica. Vector Control is a government responsibility but unfortunately that service was outsourced and data shows that since the Vector Control Program was out-sourced, there have been more cases of Dengue and lately Chikungunya and Zica than there ever was when the Vector Control Program was operated by the Environmental Health of Department. Government must change the way Vector Control(especially Mosquito control) is undertaken in Dominica.
Mosquito control seems to operate as a crisis oriented activity such as was seen during the Chikungunya and Zika outbreaks. Mosquito control must be an ongoing day to day activity and that includes all forms of control( chemical, biological, physical, educational and legislative) so a Vector Control Policy must include an appropriated budget for providing all the equipment, chemicals, expertise, manpower, and research required to successfully control the various vectors. But a Vector Control Policy without the establishment of a special vector control unit would be useless. My suggestion to Dr David Johnson and Permanent Secretary Helen Royer is to establish a Vector(Mosquito) Research and Control Unit with its own director and resources. I am willing to offer my expertise in that area as I have experience working with persons directing such units and can elicit their support and assistance.
Very timely initiative, especially with the looming threat of another vector borne illness such as yellow fever which is currently affecting Brazil.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4162488/Queen-snub-Baroness-Scotland-s-Commonwealth-Day-party.html
DNO where is your post about this happening in the UK
It is all well and good that a policy can be enacted. But don’t know that it is more needful at this time to get rid of the garbage first? Can we prevent outbreak when the garbage of the country are available for the rodents to feast on and multiply? It is very disgraceful and overbearing that a garbage collector has not pass through Castle Bruce since the last week in December. As such some persons have resolve to burning their garbage, which in itself is hazardous, due to the toxic waste being released in the open environment. The country NEEDS TO INVEST IN MORE and proper GARBAGE TRUCKS. They should be covered as well, since we are putting the workers at risk as well, riding behind uncovered garbage, The Ministry of Health needs to prioritize. Garbage collection is not an option, but a necessity.
This is important!
Beware of any ‘vector’ policies that include fogging and vacinnes Demand to know the composition of the chemicals that will be used and check out the side-effects of the chemicals for yourselves on Google (go to alternative sites especially).
It is will known that the chemicals used for vectoring are the very false flags for ascribing their side-effect symptoms to mosquitoes so as to sell us vaccines which are designed to damage our health. Foggers for zika, for example, have been found to cause the very same diseases ascribed to zika – http://circa.com/scitech/health/scientists-warn-pesticide-used-to-kill-zika-carrying-mosquitos-could-harm-humans
Remember how they tried to push ‘small heads’ zika on us, only to give up when we found out that zika had been patented by the USA a long time ago and had been engineered in Africa back in 1947. Have a look at this: http://www.abeldanger.net/2014/11/reducing-worlds-population-one.ht Be safe, trust only God.
“Google (go to alternative sites especially).”
Guy if you are actually jurisprudence, “doctor of law” JD you would be intelligent enough to know that the chemicals used for fogging is standardized, it seems to me as if you got your education from google, some of us education extend beyond google information!
Yes Francisco, whoever you are, I do have an earned Doctor of Law degree and unlike you, can read. Sir, if you follow the links on my post, you will see that what I am saying is 100% provable. However, if you choose to follow what your masters tell you to think and to do, then unfortunately, the slave gene is still there, deeply embedded into what passes for a brain.
Now, I bid you good day Sir.
David, it is one thing to grab a fifteen minuets of fame talking crap, without a resolve, you keep rattling about vector born diseases: there are all sorts of vectors. The bed-bug, rats, mouse, cockroaches, flies; any insects, or animal can be a victor carrying diseases.
Now, in reference to your rattling, there is only one resolve and that is to find the source of the mosquitoes, and eliminate them, at the breading ground; which in a place like Dominica there is no probability of that happening. Dominica is a place where it rains, and water settles where people do not even travel, where there is stagnant water; which ultimately becomes a breathing ground for the victor “mosquitos.” So, are you going to cover the three hundred five square miles of land draining stagnant water?
In modern countries, such as the United States, fogging in the late hours of the evening in residentials that’s all they do to to rid the neighborhoods of mosquitoes. Useless ranting as usual!