'Admit dengue outbreak'...Caroni residents protest latest death.
In mourning: Freddy Ramcharan displays his daughter's death certificate yesterday at Frederick Settlement in Caroni. -Photo: DEXTER PHILIP
RESIDENTS of Frederick Settlement in Caroni want the Health Ministry to admit that there is a dengue outbreak in the country, and vow that they are willing to do whatever it takes to make their case.
They erected several banners at the entrance to their community, off the Southern Main Road, to highlight the latest dengue fatality, Camille Ramcharan, a promising 22-year-old engineering student who died last week.
Her father, Freddy Ramcharan, says his family would spend the Christmas holidays mourning the death of his daughter, who died after losing the battle with dengue haemorrhagic fever. But that loss is not all he has to bear, as his wife, Shakera Mohammed, is now in hospital also stricken with the illness.
Now, Ramcharan and other residents say they are prepared to go to whatever lengths in order to get the authorities to tackle what they describe as a "deadly dengue outbreak" in their community.
The residents also charged that Health Minister Jerry Narace should not keep denying that there was a dengue outbreak in the country when, in reality, scores of persons in the community and neighbouring areas, and others around the country, were being admitted to hospitals for treatment of the disease almost on a daily basis.
The residents also cast blame on the authorities for the situation, saying that they have failed to clean the drains in and around their communities for several years now and, as a result, they have now become the breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Residents said most of the drains in the area were filled with silt and stagnant water due to years of neglect, and claimed the Insect Vector Control Unit of the Ministry of Health has not responded to their requests to spray the area.
Following the death of the UWI student, the residents say they have decided that "enough is enough", and were now determined to get the authorities to do something about the situation. One banner at the entrance leading into Frederick Settlement stated: "Help, dengue killing meh family". Another read: "Who's next in line for dengue?".
Ramcharan said his wife had also tested positive for dengue and is now warded at the Mt Hope Hospital where she is being treated. "I am hoping she pulls through. She was in hospital when my daughter took in, so I had both of them in the hospital at one time."
He also said that there were more that 50 persons in the village who have tested positive for dengue for the year.
Ramcharan said his daughter, who up to the time of death was a student at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine campus, had initially been misdiagnosed by doctors at a private health institution. He described his daughter as a vibrant, promising, young woman who had a bright future ahead of her.
"Right now, our hearts mash up like cabbage because of what happened with her. We want the authorities to deal with this situation," he said.
Professor of Marine and Environmental Sciences at UWI St Augustine, John Agard, said recently there was an increase in dengue fever throughout the region because of climate change.
Rohandra John rohjohn@trinidadexpress.com
Thursday, December 18th 2008
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