CMO Cautions Against Gastro‬

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What Ails You

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 02:30

By Delana Isles

‪Antigua St. John's - Following an alert of increased cases of the gastroenteritis in Barbados, a related death in Guyana and an outbreak in Bermuda, local authorities have urged the populace to be more mindful of their hygiene and to be on the lookout for signs of the disease, commonly known as ‘stomach flu’.

As reported by CMC the last reported case of a possible outbreak of the disease was reported in Guyana this week, less than 24 hours after Barbados issued an alert following an increase in the Gastro victims on the island.

Last February 28, CMC reported 30 cases of gastroenteritis in Bermuda, all of whom were staff and patients at the King Edward VIII Memorial Hospital, necessitating a quarantine ward at  the facility.

As reported by CMC, a Bermudan spokeswoman for the hospital stated that while gastroenteritis can be caused by many different organisms, the samples they have collected to date have tested negative for many of the common causes.

In Guyana, health officials are monitoring reports of an outbreak of the infection in the North West district of the country which has so far resulted in the death of one person.

It was reported that the authorities in that country have implemented a number of public health interventions to contain the spread of the infection.

Chief Medical Officer in Antigua and Barbuda, Dr. Rhonda Sealy-Thomas, when contacted by Caribarena, offered assurances that local authorities are monitoring the situation overseas and in the twin island state.

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 “We collect data on gastroenteritis everyday in Antigua as part of the normal surveillance... so every day or week we collect information from all our clinics and from Barbuda, we always know what is going on.”

She said she is not aware of any increased cases in the country or in islands closer to Antigua and Barbuda, but is still cautioning people to be careful about their hygiene.

“I have been in contact with my colleague in Guyana because we are very much concerned about the agent that is causing the gastroenteritis.”

She added that the infection usually strikes at certain times of the year, which is when there are increased cases, but that this is not one of those periods.

 “Observe good hygiene,” the CMO advised, “washing hands is critical in the prevention of the spread of gastroenteritis especially after using the bathroom. Proper food safety like how you store your food or reheat food if you have to store and then consume it after a while.”

Dehydration is one of the complications of the infection and is seen mostly in children and the elderly.

Dr. Sealy-Thomas said parents and relatives should monitor this, particularly when there is vomiting and diarrhoea.

Other symptoms to look out for in children are sunken eyes, if they are not passing urine enough, if they are not keeping anything down, or signs of persistent lethargy, she said.

“If you have a child who is vomiting and has diarrhoea or exhibiting any of those symptoms they should be taken to a health care provider immediately,” she advised.

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