The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

CONTRACTING the deadly Zika virus has capped months of “neglect” and “very little” action by Department of Environmental Health officials in Acklins, according to an island resident who called the government’s anti-Zika campaign there a “disgrace”.

Roston Cox, a resident of Chesters, Acklins, and former local government chief councillor for the area, said the government’s efforts to fight the Zika virus on the island have been “very careless”.

As of November 14, there were 24 confirmed cases of the Zika virus recorded in the Bahamas, according to the Ministry of Health’s website. All patients have been treated for associated symptoms and are doing well, according to the ministry. The ministry said 22 cases were recorded on New Providence, one on Bimini and one on Eleuthera.

However, Mr Cox said he was diagnosed with the virus last week. He also criticised the lack of fogging on Acklins over the last year – other than “once or twice” when he claimed a private truck was rented to conduct fogging exercises. He also claimed that there has not been a doctor stationed on Acklins for the last eight months.

According to Mr Cox, the truck that was previously used for fogging was damaged during Hurricane Joaquin in 2015, and has not been operational since. He claimed the reason a replacement truck had not been sent to Acklins was because officials at the Department of Environmental Health were relucant to do so, believing that the previous truck had been misused.

Director of Environmental Health Melanie McKenzie denied the claims about the fogging truck’s misuse when contacted yesterday. However, she acknowledged that a replacement truck for Acklins is currently being sought, as well as replacement trucks for “a number of islands”.

“I think the government response has been very uncaring and almost nothing, like no concern at all for those people who live there,” Mr Cox, who was in New Providence yesterday, said. “Because for them to know of the danger and the subtleness of the Zika virus, and to know of how these areas are known for having a lot of mosquitoes, and knowing that these mosquitos can carry this viral infection and possibly infect the entire population in these islands, you would like to think they would have done more in trying to create awareness, whether it be at the school level, even provide proper training to the employees down there.

“It’s a disgrace,” he added. “When there is a problem we try to screen people, we try to stop them from speaking the truth. We’re not pointing fingers at no particular person, we’re just saying if you’re responsible for health, do your job.”

Mr Cox said he was flown to New Providence and tested positive for the Zika virus at Doctors Hospital last week, after battling many “unusual” symptoms - headaches, dizziness, nausea, and an increased heart rate - the week before.

Mr Cox said he initially suspected he was suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, brought on from “exhaust fumes” to which he is sometimes exposed as an employee of Bahamas Power and Light (BPL).

Each time he visited the nurse, however, Mr Cox said all of his vitals, including blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels, would be normal and that the nurse “just couldn’t figure out what was going on with me”.

After repeated visits that yielded no relief, Mr Cox said the nurse organised for him to be flown out of Acklins by “emergency flight” last Wednesday. Once in New Providence, he said his blood was sampled and tested, which revealed that he had contracted the Zika virus.

Mr Cox said he was not convinced, however, stating that he and his wife had not travelled outside of Acklins or the country “for a couple of months,” and, coupled with him not hearing of any confirmed cases on the island, made him sceptical of the test results.

“I came to understand that (Zika) can only be transmitted through mosquito bites or through sexual contact,” Mr Cox said. “But I said the latter I knew was almost impossible. And so I told them, ‘No, you need to do (the test) again.’

“So they took a second sample of my blood again, did a test, and they came back and the results were the same, that it was the Zika virus. I was treated, then discharged with instructions to do follow ups with (a doctor), and also given some medication since then.”

Mr Cox said he is now feeling much better, and the symptoms he had previously experienced are gradually “dying out.” He said he is scheduled to see the doctor on Friday, one last time before returning to Acklins on Saturday.

However, he said his experience with contracting the virus, coupled with the alleged poor anti-Zika efforts by the government on the island, left him concerned about the well being of the island’s other residents.

“I’m pretty much what you can call an old man now,” Mr Cox, 46, said. “I’ve had all of my children, and so I don’t look forward to having any more children. But my concern is primarily for those children there who have not lived their lives and for pregnant mothers who may not even be aware of the dangers they are in. Because who would have ever thought that Zika was in Acklins? Because I’ve been getting bitten from mosquitos for as long as I can remember.

“I have a 13-year-old, I have a seven-year-old and a two-year-old that is presently in Acklins now. And my concern is for them among the other kids who are there, and the pregnant women. And it seems and appears as if the government is trying to sweep it under the rug.

“The danger of this and the magnitude of this is so great, that I just can’t sit down and allow anybody to quiet us or to put our children’s lives at risk just for political reasons or purposes.”