The Aedes aegypti mosquito, vector for the Chikungunya virus. Photo by Marc AuMarc, used under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.
Chikungunya, a virus that causes high fever and severe joint pain, is now rampant across the Caribbean. The disease is vector-spread by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, and the number of new cases has steadily risen across the region.
Jamaica in particular seems to be having difficulty containing the spread of both the virus and misinformation about the disease. Blogger “Cucumber Juice” admits that the “ordinary Jamaican” has played a part in the Chikungunya “rampage”, but she also criticizes the Jamaican health minister's handling of the crisis, even going so far as to suggest he should resign:
The viral fever chikungunya is now out of hand — it is an epidemic — and a lot of work is needed to get things under control. Dr. Ferguson is no longer worthy of the trust or expectation that he can lead the work that needs to be done. […]
Why resign? Because Dr. Ferguson is now the very public face of an abject public health failure and of a Ministry that is rightly mistrusted by many in the population he is meant to protect and serve.
The blogger, Alice Clare, argues that the next steps should be to “mitigate and educate”, while addressing the country's immediate needs: an island-wide cleanup of streets, drains, and gullies, to get rid of the stagnant water where mosquitoes breed. She also advocates teaching vulnerable communities about proper water storage and disposal. Unreliable garbage collection has also exacerbated the health situation. Perhaps social media can be used as an effective information channel to educate the public, Clare hopes.
Twitter user Charmaine Wright suggests that health officials also need to make sure information spreads to the community level, so it connects with people, particularly those who are illiterate or lack Internet access. Music, she suggests, would be a great way to achieve this. In fact, Jamaica already has a Chikungunya song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rHOEcSpK_c
Using the hashtags #chikungunya #caribbean, Twitter users are sharing information about how climate change can contribute to the spread of disease, about regional Chikungunya death toll statistics, and much more. One Jamaica-based Twitter user, Emma Lewis, asked:
The 1st case in #Caribbean was December 2013!! (St Maarten) #chikungunya #caribbean Didn't we have time to prepare, educate public??
— Emma Lewis (@Petchary) October 1, 2014
Lewis also wondered if the outbreak might have political implications for the Jamaican government. Compatriot Jan Voordouw noted:
#Jamaica was caught unprepared: lack of medicines and planning for absences of workforce -while being late in the battle #Chikungunya
— Jan Voordouw (@JanVoordouw) September 29, 2014
Some netizens took a humourous view of the situation:
DEET is the new cologne. #jamaica #Chikungunya
— Richard Allen (@RichSA1) September 29, 2014
GM tweeps! Thought for the day: “If you think you're too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” #Chikungunya #Jamaica
— ecoSMARTja (@ecoSMARTja) September 29, 2014
The government, however, doesn't consider the situation a laughing matter. The minister of health finally addressed the nation about the health crisis last Sunday, on September 28. In the meantime, Jamaicans continue to find ways to cope with the outbreak.
22 comments
I spent a month in the Dominican Republic and spent the entire time in contact with these mosquitoes. The only way to be any where near sure that you won’t get bit is to be inside a mosquito net.
On my last day there I didn’t put on repellent while I waited 15 minutes for the bus. The 50% deet repellent had been keeping me chikungunya free, but not bite free, and I had to reapply every 2-3 hours. I gave up counting at 60 bites. So I don’t apply the cream for 15 minutes while waiting for the bus and before I knew it I had a 99 degree fever and slight joint pain. And that was only the beginning. My entire group was tested by the CDC in Miami and by this point the fevers at 102 and I’m walking with a limp. By the time I get home its at 105 degrees and I can barely move.
People need more than education about the virus, they need the resources to be able to protect themselves, especially the elderly and children
Dominican Republic has its own Chikungunya song. I live in Puerto Rico and here is am epidemic too. But, information pass very quickly and the Department of Health have our support, instead of the problems of corruption we claim our government have. Use acetaminophen pills since the first minute of fever and do not stop taking regular dosis until u feel completely recovered. The platelets will drop and then the blood white globes. Drink water, rest and take any thing in case of diarrea. For some people the pain is severe, but maybe for others not. If you had severe diarrea and vomiting, run to the hospital for hydration by vain. We handle it as that and the population is overtaking the disease well.
why why why. have mercy on jamaica lord. down on my kness as i pray. lol