PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
Mauritius: 3 ministers lead clean up of village infested by dengue fever
Triolet, Mauritius (PANA) – Three Mauritian ministers were on ground on Sunday, accompanied by 100 workers and an equipped team to clean the village of Triolet, northern Mauritius, where about 20 cases of the dengue fever were reported during the week, PANA learnt from official sources.
The ministers of Health, Agriculture and Youth and Sports, as well as their staff made door-to-door visits to clean and remove rubbish and old abandoned equipment, before spraying insecticides to prevent mosquitoes from growing there.
The inhabitants were also sensitised on the importance to keep their environment clean, to get rid of everything that can facilitate the breeding of mosquitoes, which cause several diseases like dengue, malaria and chikungunya.
The Mauritian minister of Health, Lormus Bundhoo, expressed regrets that many Mauritians do not take their responsibilities with regard to the environment where they live.
“The government can do everything to take much workforce to clean, distribute anti-mosquito creams and insecticides, but we don’t manage to protect ourselves from those diseases, without the participation of the community”, he said.
The minister added that he reported many abandoned fields in that region of the country, called out to their owners, saying: "we will notify their owners so that they clean them in 48 hours. Otherwise the law will be applied to them strictly”.
He promised that 40 health inspectors will continue the job for a week, by visiting all inhabitants of the region, from Monday.
Dengue fever, also known as breakbone fever, is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus.
Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles.
In a small proportion of cases, the disease develops into the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, resulting in bleeding, low levels of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage, or into dengue shock syndrome, where dangerously low blood pressure occurs.
-0-PANA NA/SSB/MSA/VAO 23March2014
The ministers of Health, Agriculture and Youth and Sports, as well as their staff made door-to-door visits to clean and remove rubbish and old abandoned equipment, before spraying insecticides to prevent mosquitoes from growing there.
The inhabitants were also sensitised on the importance to keep their environment clean, to get rid of everything that can facilitate the breeding of mosquitoes, which cause several diseases like dengue, malaria and chikungunya.
The Mauritian minister of Health, Lormus Bundhoo, expressed regrets that many Mauritians do not take their responsibilities with regard to the environment where they live.
“The government can do everything to take much workforce to clean, distribute anti-mosquito creams and insecticides, but we don’t manage to protect ourselves from those diseases, without the participation of the community”, he said.
The minister added that he reported many abandoned fields in that region of the country, called out to their owners, saying: "we will notify their owners so that they clean them in 48 hours. Otherwise the law will be applied to them strictly”.
He promised that 40 health inspectors will continue the job for a week, by visiting all inhabitants of the region, from Monday.
Dengue fever, also known as breakbone fever, is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus.
Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles.
In a small proportion of cases, the disease develops into the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, resulting in bleeding, low levels of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage, or into dengue shock syndrome, where dangerously low blood pressure occurs.
-0-PANA NA/SSB/MSA/VAO 23March2014
