Guyana, Georgetown- 3 April - PAHO supported the Guyana Ministry of Health (MOH) to conduct a training session on the “Clinical diagnosis and management of Dengue” at Charity District Hospital for medical staff in Region #2. The training was part of a series of activities jointly carried out by PAHO to support the MOH through a “Technical visit to strengthen national capacities in dengue clinical management and Aedes aegypti vector control”. The facilitators were Ms. Tashanna Bowman, Focal point (ag), Aedes Borne Disease Program, Vector Control Service, Ministry of Health, Guyana, Dr. Emmanuel Forlack, IPC, Surveillance, PAHO Guyana, and Dr. Kleber Luz, professor of infectious diseases / Institute of Tropical Medicine of Rio Grande do Norte/Brazil, and PAHO/WHO Expert for Dengue clinical management and arboviruses.
The Pomeroon-Supenaam region comprises forested highland and low coastal plain but also takes in a small portion of the hilly sand and clay region. The 42,769 people of this region live in Amerindian settlements and more established villages concentrated along the coast. The town of Anna Regina, on the west bank of the Essequibo River, grew out of a government land development scheme and is made up of former plantations. (https://mlgrd.gov.gy/regional-development/)
This Region reported 1,368 Dengue cases in 2023 (which was one of the highest in Guyana). Given the diversity of this part of the region, there is a presence of the Aedes mosquito, and therefore, some measures will need to be put in place to prevent the spread of dengue within the region.
During the discussions at the training, it was observed that there is a need to increase capacity building for health professionals in dengue case management, case reporting, and the procurement of supplies for dengue diagnoses.
It was recommended that the National Guidelines for clinical diagnosis and treatment of dengue needs to be updated to have accurate results relating to dengue diagnoses and data collection.
Other services visited during this one-week technical support mission included: VCS/MOH,GPHC, New Amsterdam Hospital, Diamond Diagnostic Center, West Demerara Hospital and NPHRL
PAHO/WHO will continue to support the Ministry of Health in this important area for the prevention of, and the spread of dengue in Guyana.
