Grenada continues to remain free of Chikungunya

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. George Mitchell, says that Grenada is yet to record any case of the Chikungunya disease, which is transmitted through the aedes aegypti mosquito.

“Neither private or public doctors have come across cases, but what we did was to conduct the Chikungunya test on suspected cases of dengue fever. After the test, we have had positive results for dengue fever, but none of the test came back as positive for Chikungunya,” he said.

“So right now I can say that Grenada medical records have no suspected or confirmed cases of the Chikungunya,” he added.

Recent reports say that there are presently more than 130 941 suspected cases and 4 486 laboratory confirmed of chikungunya positive cases in 17 Caribbean territories, including the French Caribbean territories.

“However, in the case of Grenada, we are still free of it and remaining free is a partnership involving the general public because the way it’s transmitted. The public did to make it impossible for the mosquito to breathe and that is why we want householders to continuously keep the surroundings clean,” said Dr. Mitchell.

The rainy season, according to Dr. Mitchell, requires that the public become more vigilant so as to ensure that breeding grounds are not created for mosquitoes.

“The public, therefore, needs to clean up and remove all waste that can assist in the breeding
of mosquitoes,” he said. (LS)