Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Government has announced a series of measures to combat the dengue outbreak, which has already resulted in eleven confirmed deaths and is overwhelming both public and private healthcare centers.

The first measure involves the creation of the Dengue Action Cabinet, a collaborative effort between various ministries and directorates, working alongside the Ministry of Health to intensify efforts against the virus.

To control the spread of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, responsible for dengue transmission, house-to-house fumigation operations will be expanded in high-risk areas.

The government will also strengthen cleaning campaigns in communities and public spaces to eliminate breeding sites for the disease-carrying mosquitoes.

In addition to increasing the capacity and effectiveness of the emergency medical care system to provide timely treatment to dengue patients, hospitals will receive necessary resources and facilitate access to laboratory tests for faster and more accurate diagnoses.

Public awareness and education campaigns on dengue prevention will be reinforced, along with daily press conferences to keep the population informed of the situation and actions taken.

General Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Emergency Operations Center (COE), will coordinate support initiatives for all operations conducted by the Dengue Action Cabinet.

Suspected dengue cases continue to rise in the Dominican Republic, with a total of 12,991 reported cases since the beginning of the year. Two new deaths bring the total to eleven, with a fatality rate of 0.08%. Delays in seeking medical care remain a concern.

The Minister of Public Health emphasized data transparency and urged against politicizing the issue, emphasizing the ongoing investigations into potential dengue-related deaths.

Healthcare centers are grappling with the outbreak, with cases reported in various facilities, including the Hugo Mendoza and Robert Reid Cabral hospitals, as well as private clinics. The government’s measures aim to address the situation and reduce dengue’s spread.

“The most common signs of dehydration are thirst, a dry mouth, or a headache, indicating that the body needs replenishment”

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A medical practitioner says the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) needs to hire additional anesthesiologists to meet the demands that can only be executed by physicians trained in that speciality area.

Speaking to members of the media at a World Anaesthesia Day Symposium in the QEH Auditorium on Monday, consultant anesthesiologist Dr Keisha Thomas-Gibson said more anesthesiologists were required to decrease the heavy workload in the Anaesthesia Department, as she noted that the duties of anesthesiologists go way beyond administering medication to put a patient to sleep before surgery and being there to wake them following the procedure.

Dr Thomas-Gibson, who is the Anesthesia Intensive Care programme coordinator for the University of the West Indies (UWI) undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, said because the anesthesiologist’s role stretches outside the operating theatre, more human resources are necessary to service all the other areas.

“Ninety-nine per cent of patients do not know that the anesthesiologist is with them throughout the surgery. They think that we give an injection and sometimes return to wake you up, or you wake up on your own, and that is absolutely not the case. We are the intraoperative, the surgeon cuts, and we do everything else. 

“So it is a situation where, of course, we need human resources, we need persons, we need staff to be able to execute all of the different roles that we have and the speciality of anaesthesia. Because we are finding ourselves in so many other parts of the hospital, we need staff to be able to service all those areas that we are required to service,” she said.

Adding that an extensive list of highly specialised surgeries is performed in Barbados, Dr Thomas-Gibson said that, at times, anesthesiologists have to push other cases aside to be able to provide the service to that speciality case.

“So the backlogs can’t be addressed by us alone. We are here every single day, and we only do what is presented up until a particular time within here and obvious limitations,” she said.

During her presentation, Dr Thomas-Gibson stressed that the safety record at the hospital is “exceptional”.

She commended the partnership between UWI and the QEH, where doctors are receiving specialised training to become anesthesiologists. (AH)

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Guyana is training more nurses, providing advanced training to doctors, buying higher quality equipment and encouraging surgeons from across the Caribbean to come here to share their expertise as part of a wider plan to gear up the country to become a medical “hub” for the rest of the region, according to Health Minister Dr ...

Perez Duran asked President Abinader to pay attention to the growing 0epidemic, about which he indicated the figures do not correspond to reality, so he asked to declare a state of emergency in the country due to increased cases.

“I am making a call to you, Mr. President (…), I understand that within 24 hours you should decree a state of emergency, where a campaign of fumigation, orientation, protocolization of the dengue fever that we have in front of us,” said the doctor.

The doctor’s daughter died on Friday last week after remaining in intensive care and being diagnosed with the disease transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito after being hospitalized since Wednesday morning.

He explained that the teenager arrived at the hospital “in a critical condition,” so she was immediately referred to the Intensive Care Unit.

“We as parents spared neither resources nor efforts to facilitate everything that was asked of us,” said the grieving father in an interview with Martina Espinal on the program Al Punto.

He indicated that, at first, they thought it was a classic dengue, but after she was intubated early Thursday morning, the infant became brain-dead at 5:00 p.m., indicating to her parents that it was too late.

The girl’s father said that the child’s platelets, which were at 266, reached 11 in just three days.

With a troubled expression, Perez narrated that they took the girl to receive medical attention since the first symptoms appeared on Sunday of that week. However, the pre-adolescent died days later.

“On Friday morning an attempt was made to connect her to a special dialysis machine, when the caveat was made that the girl was clinically dead, it was literally exploding her lungs, heart and kidneys. When she was connected to the machine, the girl died after two minutes, she went into irreversible arrest,” he said.

Second-generation Barbadian Daniella Sawyers is enjoying a new lease on life at 17 and will soon be granted her wish – to visit Barbados.

She was diagnosed with Rett syndrome – a rare genetic neurological and developmental disorder that affects the way the brain develops, and causes a progressive loss of motor skills and language – at the age of two, when she began showing signs of unsteadiness and could not stand or walk for long periods of time.

In June, she began treatment at Cohen Children’s Medical Centre with a newly approved drug that dramatically reduced the symptoms of her illness.

Daniella was present at a press conference on Tuesday, at which her doctor, Sanjeev Kothare, MD, director in the Division of Pediatric Neurology at Cohen Children’s Medical Centre, presented his findings.

Also present, along with her Barbadian mother Chyrel, her Jamaican father Donovan and other members of the Northwell Health team, were Consul General of Barbados at New York Mackie Holder, and Deputy Director, Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) USA, Tenisha Holder.

Rett syndrome occurs almost exclusively in girls and leads to severe impairments that affect nearly every aspect of the child’s life, pointed out Dr Kothare, who has been treating Daniella for the past few years. The disorder is caused by mutations on the X chromosome on a gene called
MECP2.

It is estimated that Rett syndrome occurs worldwide in one out of every 10 000 female births. Patients will live to middle age or beyond with increasingly debilitating symptoms if not treated.

By the time Dr Kothare started treating Daniella in 2021, she was experiencing chronic and uncontrollable seizures – as many as 30 to 40 in one day – and her ability to speak was very limited. Her mother said that Daniella “spoke with her eyes”.

That began to change when Dr Kothare prescribed a drug called Daybue (trofinetide), which was approved by the FDA in March. The new drug improved cognition, gait and behaviour.

We are so grateful to Dr Kothare for prescribing Daybue for Daniella,” said the teen’s mother. “In just three months, she is walking and speaking sentences. And the seizures are much less frequent and of shorter duration. The thing to remember is that children like Daniella understand everything – it’s like they’re trapped inside a piece of glass.

According to Dr Kothare, Daniella will be taking the medication for the rest of her life. He believes that she and her family will continue to see improvements.

The Barbados representatives were part of the event after a Northwell representative contacted Consul General Holder about Daniella’s condition and her wish to visit Barbados, the birthplace of not only her mother but of Rihanna, of whom she is a big fan.

When Holder heard, he sprang into action. The family and audience burst into applause when he announced that the Sawyers family would be treated to a one-week vacation in Barbados.

Daniella clearly understood the announcement. Looking at her mother, she said, “I love it.”

Holder said it was an honour to have Barbados associated with the announcement of the medical breakthrough by Northwell, which has been particularly kind to the island during the COVID-19 pandemic and with which he had built a strong relationship.

He noted that the Consulate could not help but get involved when he heard of Daniella’s story. He said making her dream trip come true was a reflection of the DNA of Barbados which has built a reputation for warmth and hospitality, whether sharing a meal with strangers or giving refuge to stranded persons and ships, as it did during the pandemic.

He also pointed out that Barbados was known as a place people visited for its recuperative climate.

Tenisha Holder said BTMI was happy to facilitate the family trip to Barbados and would ensure Daniella sees Rihanna’s childhood home and enjoys as much of what the island has to offer as possible.

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In the wake of a loved one’s passing, many find solace in preserving cherished memories through photos, mementoes, or keepsakes. For former journalist Krystal Penny Bowen, the route of memory for her late mother, Sheralene Bowen, begins in the kitchen. The destination is the book, Food: My Mother’s Love Language: Celebrating the Life of Sheralene Bowen, a culinary tribute encapsulating her mother’s delicious recipes.

Bowen has received heartwarming feedback from readers who commend her for the touching tribute to her mother. 

She fondly recalled one of her most cherished memories of working side by side with her mother in the kitchen, a place where they not only prepared meals but also nurtured their bond.

“My mother loved to let me take photos of her food. I think that was the only way that I could be in the kitchen. In addition to that we would work together to get her food orders out. I was often called on to get the supplies or prep the raw materials. I would provide as much support as possible and in some cases, I would even serve the food at the event during her catering jobs,” she said. 

The idea took root in November 2021 when Krystal created a 12-page draft containing her ailing mother’s 12 cherished recipes. Sheralene wholeheartedly embraced the concept and supported her daughter’s effort until she succumbed to cervical cancer just four months later. Krystal was determined to see her dream of publishing the book come to fruition, not only as a culinary compilation but also as a brief glimpse into the multifaceted life of her beloved mother, who was not only a chef but also a devoted mom and active community member.

Krystal emphasised her dedication to commemorating her mother’s life with the utmost respect for her final days and their family. The book primarily focuses on her mother’s remarkable career as a cook and entrepreneur, taking approximately four months to complete. Krystal collaborated with Robert Gibson of Passionate Words Editing Services, whose expertise was invaluable in shaping the book’s layout and appearance.

While the writing process was undoubtedly challenging, Krystal firmly believes it played an integral role in her healing journey by allowing her to share her mother’s incredible persona with a wider audience.

Krystal said: “My mother was an incredible person. She was artistic, funny, kind and loving. She was a social butterfly – she enjoyed socialising, dancing, singing and volunteering. As a cook and chef, she worked in hospitality, in food canteens as well as in several restaurants such as the now defunct BJ’s Café, Wonderland Deli and the University of The West Indies Cave Hill Campus Cafeteria. She catered for The University of The West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, World Cup 2007, QEH Medical Staff as well as for the late Prime Minister of Barbados, The Rt. Hon. David Thompson and then-Attorney General of Barbados, and now Prime Minister of Barbados, The Hon. Mia Amor Mottley. Mom was unable to work for many years due to her declining health, in 2022 she was diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer.”

The graduate of The University of Leicester with a Masters of Art in Media, Communications, and Public Relations urges others to consider documenting their loved ones’ legacies through writing, as it can provide solace during the grieving process.

“Writing a book about your loved one is difficult, but I believe one should do it. My mom meant the world to me. She was my friend, she loved me unconditionally. When writing, think of what was truly special about that parent. For my mother, it was her love of cooking and how she used food to share her love. Food was her love language –it was how she showed her feelings, and she was an incredible cook too,” she shared, encapsulating the profound sentiment behind her tribute to her mother. (PR/BT)

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“One can also stay hydrated in extreme heat by consuming water-rich fruits and vegetables that can be found in the backyard or in the market”

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