Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 05, 2016 News
An outbreak of the Zika Virus in the northern and eastern parts of Brazil has prompted the Ministry of Natural Resources to throw its support behind the Ministry of Public Health.
The two ministries will together spearhead a massive education and awareness campaign to inform members of the public of ways to protect themselves from the virus, particularly in the mining communities.
This strategic collaboration will serve to augment support already being offered to monitor and arrest the spread of the virus here. A number of agencies, national and regional, are supporting the efforts of the Public Health Ministry.
Natural Resources Minister, Mr. Raphael Trotman, on Wednesday convened a meeting with the Heads of the collaborating agencies to draft a strategy to address the public health threat.
Coming out of that meeting it was decided that the Natural Resources Ministry through the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Protected Areas Commission (PAC) will be embarking on a three-pronged approach to support the Ministry of Public Health.
The first phase will entail the dissemination of information and brochures to remote areas throughout the Mining and Forestry districts countrywide.
The Natural Resources Ministry will also be soliciting support from the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association (GGDMA), the Guyana Women Miners’ Organisation (GWMO), and companies within the forestry and mining sectors in this endeavour. The agencies and companies operating within these sectors will also be expected to provide other tangible support as part of their corporate responsibility to the communities in which they operate.
Secondly, the Ministry will be providing logistical support and equipment via its Occupational Health and Safety mechanism to bolster the efforts of the Ministry of Public Health to fog and apply other vector control measures in remote hinterland communities. Additionally, all buildings under the Ministry’s purview, across the country, will be fogged and all receptacles cleared as a matter of priority.
The meeting was attended by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Mr. Joslyn McKenzie; Head of the PAC, Mr. Damian Fernandes; Head of the EPA, Dr. Indarjit Ramdass; Head of the GFC, Mr. James Singh; Head of the GGMC, Mr. Newell Dennison; Ministerial Advisor, Ministry of Natural Resources, Mr. Clayton Hall and Technical Assistant, Ms. Teresa Gaime.
To date, only one case of the Zika virus has been confirmed in Guyana. A patient was diagnosed with the virus in January, but all of her symptoms have reportedly since disappeared. Her relatives have however been under medical supervision and continue to be closely monitored.
Since the outbreak in Brazil, the Ministry of Public Health has stepped up monitoring at all hospitals and medical facilities for persons presenting with flu-like symptoms. The Ministry’s Vector Control Unit has also been undertaking fogging and other exercises to tackle the Aedes mosquito and eliminate the spread of Zika and other tropical diseases like dengue and chikungunya in Guyana.
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