The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

In the past five years we have witnessed at least two mosquito-borne diseases that have resulted in multiple deaths in our population. It seems to be the rule that the Department of Public Health (DoPH) notifies the general public after the diseases are so rampant that even school children know something is wrong. I am not aware that the public has ever been notified as a result of contact tracing of how these diseases got into the country and who is/are the person(s) responsible for bringing them here.

Recently, I heard from people who know about the situation and from reports on the news of a sick white male who had travelled to the Congo, Africa, who was somehow dropped off here by the US Coast Guard. We have seen in the press that the officials at the Ministry of Health and DoPH are patting themselves on the back for how they handled this recent “Ebola scare”. However, there are many pertinent questions that they have seemed reluctant to answer for the benefit of the public.

We were advised by the Minister of Health that this patient, who travelled to an Ebola-infested country, died within less than 72 hours of being in The Bahamas from malaria. The first question is: did this man die from malaria or did he have malaria when he died and actually died from another cause? Does malaria kill so quickly? News reports from American media outlets pointed out that there were two other men on that same ship who were quarantined in New Orleans when the ship arrived. They were both found to have malaria and both are still alive.

In addition, we have seen in the printed press that the Chief Medical Officer of DoPH praised their response to the situation with this patient, but was their response as praiseworthy as we are reading? How long was it before DoPH responded after being advised of the presence of this patient who was sick with an uncertain diagnosis and how many patients were potentially exposed to this sick patient before he was isolated? In addition, has DoPH made any effort to contact any of the persons who may have had some contact with this now deceased person as a part of their follow up? Was allowing a large plastic sheet to cover a part of his isolation area a part of their isolation strategy? Are they telling the public the truth or are they withholding information for national security reasons?

It seems to a large degree that the responses from the DoPH over the years has been superficial, self serving, disingenuous and even incompetent at best. A huge responsibility rests on the shoulders of the DoPH and there are certain mistakes they just cannot afford to make.

In any event, it would be a pleasant departure from the status quo if media outlets thoroughly investigate more issues of national importance instead of simply stating what the powers that be want us to hear. After all, there may or may not be more to this story than what we are hearing from the relevant authorities.

JOHN BOWMAN

Nassau,

September 24, 2014.