Barbados dengue fever outbreak, records two deaths

Barbados: Following the current dengue fever outbreak in Barbados, the nation has witnessed two deaths, a 70-year-old male and a suspected case of a 48-year-old. The Ministry of Health and Wellness announced the Report on Friday.As per the reports by the Ministry, the 70-year-old male has been dealing with Dengue for a long time. After a while, he recovered successfully and was discharged from Queen Elizabeth Hospital, but later, he was readmitted again with another ailment and failed.Another suspected case of a 48-year-old, where the victim was dealing with several diseases at a time, including chronic renal failure, later passed at QEH Hospital.Further, the Health Ministry has also highlighted that since the Barbados Dengue outbreak in 2023, the nation has faced a significant increase in the number from 428 to 2,105 clinically suspected cases.Meanwhile, considering the other Type 2 and Type 3, no confirmed cases were reported by the health ministry except 24 suspected cases.Notably, Dengue is a virally infected and acute mosquito-borne illness or disease that is caused by one of the four known dengue viruses. Being endemic in Barbados, the disease has several occasional outbreaks. The prominent symptoms of the disease are that a person experiences a fever of 3 to 14 days, along with some other infections such as headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash.Further, It is also to be noted that, in exceptional cases, the disease takes two to seven days to recover. In contrast, in other severe cases, the infection may result in serious complications like organ failure and death.The Health Ministry directed patients and other family members to protect themselves appropriately by adopting several ways, such as mosquito bites with appropriate skin coverings, mosquito nets, or chemical insect repellents containing DEET or Picaridin.    Notably, by adopting several precautions, one can save themselves from getting infected with Dengue. These include:

• Wear Protective Clothing
• Stay in well-screened places
• Use Mosquito Repellents
• Keep the Wet Garbage Separate
• Keep the doors and windows of the houses closed
• Change your day towels after a Day's Use