Death of Kako nine year- old…Teams working to determine cause of outbreak of sudden illness at Region Seven –Min. Norton

Dec 06, 2016 News

The Ministry of Public Health is working to determine the source of an outbreak at Kako Village, in Region Seven, which has left one child dead and another in critical condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, (GPHC).

Minister of Health
Dr George Norton

According to earlier reports, the two boys, said to be brothers, suffered as a result of cyanide poisoning; their symptoms include fever, headache and coughing.
While one child, age 9, died as a result of the illness, the other is a patient of the Intensive Care Unit of GPHC; he has suffered encephalopathy or brain damage.
During a special press briefing at Parliament yesterday it was explained that 39 other children from the area also had similar symptoms.
Minister of Public Health, Dr George Norton explained that the community health worker thought it best to get children from Kako to Kamarang where two doctors are stationed.
He noted that the Doctors evaluated and found that of 39 children, five had elevated temperatures, and most others had a common cold and cough.
“None of them had symptoms similar to the two brothers. They were all treated and sent back to their village,” he added.
Dr Norton noted however that a post mortem examination conducted on the dead brother’s remains revealed that he suffered as a result of toxicity.
“There were also traces of malaria, swelling of the brain and bronco pneumonia.”
Dr. Norton therefore debunked any suspicions of meningitis. He noted that while there have been a number of unconfirmed reports of meningitis circulating in the media; all the tests carried out came back negative.
“The symptoms of the second child include unresponsiveness of the brain… but we are not in a position to say clearly what it is at this point,” Norton added.
As part of the investigations, the Health Minister said that a number of samples were collected from the Kako for testing. He explained that the village is in the Kako River about half a mile from the mouth. The Kako River is a tributary of the Mazaruni River.
He was at the time responding to questions of whether the death and illness were linked to mining activities in the area.
“Mining is in the Mazaruni River not in Kako…The fact that you have mining in and around the area, there is no reason to associate death to mining activity,” Dr Norton said further.
He, however, noted that teams from the Guyana Water Incorporated and the Ministry of Natural Resources are working with the Health Ministry to ascertain the cause of the illness.
“Samples have taken for testing both locally and internationally.”
Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Karen Boyle, who was also present at the media briefing, yesterday, said that the samples were sent out to Trinidad and Tobago and the results are expected by the end of this week.