An awareness community meeting was held last night at the East End/Long Look Community Centre which was was attended by less than 25 persons. Photo: VINO

Those attending the meeting heard that Vector Control has some eight (8) sanitation officers who spread out across the Territory doing inspections of places under government's control to curtail the breeding of the mosquito and in the same vein the department is upping their game in the public relations and public education drive to best grip to spiraling number of persons becoming infected. Photo: VINO

Chief Environmental Officer Mr Carnel W. Smith was among the team that addressed the community meeting. Photo: VINO

The Ministry of Health and Social Development is said to be embarking on a campaign to force a behaviour change to stop the breeding of the mosquito. Photo: VINO

Mr Jeremiah Frett who told residents that the number of persons infected with infection should be calculated 600 x 2 of 3 and residents are to take the rap for the continuous breeding of the mosquito which carries the disease. He was extensively supported by the other officers. Photo: VINO

Vector Control’s Programme Manager Mr Minchington L. M. Israel illustrated in detail ways to curtail the breeding of the mosquito that causes Chikungunya. Photo: VINO

Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. It causes fever and severe joint pain. Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash. Last evening October 6, 2014 at the East End Community Centre residents heard that the extent of the infection is well into the thousands across the Territory and its effects on the economy will soon be heavily felt.

The community meeting was facilitated by personnel within the Vector Control and Health Centres of the Virgin Islands (VI) including Vector Control’s Programme Manager Mr Minchington L. M. Israel, Chief Environmental Officer Mr Carnel W. Smith, Dr. Ronald Georges and Mr Jeremiah Frett.

It was Mr Frett who told residents that the number of persons infected with the disease should be calculated 600 x 2 of 3 and residents are to take the rap for the continuous breeding of the mosquito which carries the disease. He was extensively supported by the other officers.

According to the officials the untidy and tardy trends of having containers that store water is the main cause and they not only include specially set containers like water tanks, cisterns and barrels but also containers that are of no use and not properly disposed of.

Several residents accepted that the onus of curtailing the breeding of the mosquito lies heavily on the shoulders of individuals even as they put out the challenge that, “We must be our brothers’ keeper and challenge them to keep the surroundings clean and free from breeding…”

But there were those who fired back saying that the government is to take blame to a larger extent as they have allegedly failed to take proactive measures.

The discussion started prior to the commencement of the meeting at the frontage of the community centre among a concerned group of persons who declined to attend the meeting. “They going around now blaming residents but they not fogging as they should, they not weeding as they should and now when they find themselves cornered with an outbreak they coming to blame us, take your blame too,” said an irate man.

They shared that many of the mosquito breeding grounds are places under government’s control and not citizens.

“They have the ghuts stagnant, sewerage streaming all over the place and lodging in all them holes around the place the underground systems all those places and more that I haven’t even alluded to… it’s the government’s responsibility but all you hearing is the residents got to clean up, the residents nasty, the residents this and the residents that. NDP, (Dr the Hon) Kedrick D. Pickering is to first take blame. He straight up last year told me he was waiting to weed his district around the Christmas season so the place would look nice for the holiday the grass around Long Look was high over he head,” said another man.

Those attending the meeting heard that Vector Control has some eight (8) sanitation officers who spread out across the Territory doing inspections of places under government's control to curtail the breeding of the mosquito and in the same vein the department is upping their game in the public relations and public education drive to best grip the spiraling number of persons becoming infected.

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease first described during an outbreak in southern Tanzania in 1952. It is an RNA virus that belongs to the alphavirus genus of the family Togaviridae. The name ‘chikungunya’ derives from a word in the Kimakonde language, meaning "to become contorted" and describes the stooped appearance of sufferers with joint pain (arthralgia).

Dr Georges explained that the virus is transmitted from human to human by the bites of infected female mosquitoes. Most commonly, the mosquitoes involved are Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, two species which can also transmit other mosquito-borne viruses, including dengue. These mosquitoes can be found biting throughout daylight hours, though there may be peaks of activity in the early morning and late afternoon. Both species are found biting outdoors, but Aedes aegypti will also readily feed indoors.

After the bite of an infected mosquito, onset of illness occurs usually between four and eight days but can range from two to 12 days.