Although the United States Centre for Disease and Control (CDC) has issued a travel health advisory for the presence of Oropouche virus in Barbados, there is no public health emergency and the onus is on people to take necessary precautions.
That is the word from Chief Medical Officer The Most Honourable Dr Kenneth George, who is encouraging Barbadians to “enjoy your Christmas” as this was all part of the necessary reporting requirements.
The CDC issued the Level 1 advisory three days ago, alerting Americans about the virus and to take normal precautions. Oropouche is a dengue-like virus with similar symptoms, carried by a midge, also known as a sandfly, and occasionally by the Culex mosquito. On December 6, the Ministry of Health and Wellness announced two adult cases were detected on island.
“Once a new disease is isolated in Barbados, or for that matter, any other country, there is a requirement to notify our international agencies. We do this as a matter of course. So Barbados notified the IHR (International Health Regulations) and CARPHA (Caribbean Public Health Agency) with respect to the two cases,” George told the Saturday Sun.
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