The Tribune

By FARRAH JOHNSON

HEALTH Minister Dr Duane Sands yesterday said the public should not be alarmed by reports of an increase of a potentially deadly mosquito-borne virus present in central Florida.

The Florida Department of Health in Orange County released a statement last Thursday advising the public of the rise of the Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEEV), which can cause brain swelling and infections in humans. Pictures of that report were circulated on social media yesterday.

According to Florida health officials, a number of Sentinel chickens in Orange County tested positive for the virus, which can be transmitted to humans through infected mosquitoes.

When asked if Bahamians should be concerned due to the country’s close proximity to the state, Mr Sands insisted the nation has nothing to worry about.

“Bear in mind that there have been no reports of this mosquito-borne virus in anything other than chickens,” he said.

“And so, while theoretically there’s a potential issue, there have been no reports at all in Florida or elsewhere of any human cases.”

According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), someone who is infected with the EEE virus usually develops symptoms four to ten days after they are bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus.

An infected person may suffer from high fever, chills, nausea and in extreme cases, disorientation and even seizures.

The virus can be deadly. However, the CDC also revealed that only about seven cases of the EEE virus in humans are reported in the United States annually.

Given these statistics, Mr Sands insisted The Bahamas has more pressing health issues to be concerned about. “There are bigger fish to fry right now,” he said.

“The question is whether or not Bahamians are availing themselves of measles immunization and trying to deal with a threat which is real and deadly, as opposed to going after something that is of hypothetical concern only.

“You’re talking about a disease of less than a handful of cases per year in the United States, whereas we’ve had hundreds of measles cases -hundreds of thousands around the world with many, many deaths.

“So let’s focus our attention on those things,” he added.