Marigot:--- The Dengue Management Committee declared at a meeting on Monday at the Préfecture that St. Martin is currently in an epidemic phase due to several indicators and urges citizens to protect themselves.
The committee based its conclusion on the number of recognized cases since December 1 2012, the number of hospitalizations registered since the beginning of the year, the number of emergency room visits, and an outbreak of a Serotype 4 case.
An action plan has been put in place for surveillance, alert, and management of epidemics (PSAGE). Action will be taken on three fronts; general mosquito fogging with insecticide over the whole territory, intensifying awareness on measures to protect individuals from mosquito bites, and reinforcing surveillance on the epidemiological situation. Residents are encouraged to open doors and windows when the truck passes for greater effectiveness of the treatment.
To prevent breeding of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, the following measures should be taken inside and outside the house:
Use repellent sprays and creams and wear long sleeve clothing and long pants in the evening; install mosquito nets on doors and windows and sleep with mosquito nets to prevent bites, especially to children and elderly persons; remove any stagnant water collecting anywhere in the yard or in the house i.e. from flower vases and old tyres etc; cover the water cistern with a mosquito net or breed the Golomine fish that eat the mosquito larvae; regularly clean out rain gutters especially after heavy rainfall.
More information on fighting Dengue can be obtained from Service de Lutte Antivectorielle (00590) 27 96 94 or (00590) 27 16 18.
