It appears as though the Ministry of Health’s sole focus is to collect statistics on the number of people who have contracted the Zika virus in T&T. The public is constantly updated on the number of confirmed cases, especially as it relates to pregnant women. However, very little is being done beyond this.
The fact that there are 254 confirmed cases of Zika and speculation that there are thousands of unconfirmed ones is a clear indication of the utter failure of the Insect Vector Control Division and the Ministry of Health to adequately protect citizens from mosquito-borne diseases.
As it stands, only select communities have been fogged and sprayed but people throughout the country have been affected.
The Insect Vector Control Division and the Regional Corporations should be most visible and vigilantly working with members of the public to ensure that the Aedes Aegypti mosquito population is kept at bay.
All lives are equally important thus all communities should be properly maintained and sprayed.
The Minister of Health needs to step up and adopt a proactive approach to dealing with this Zika outbreak. Let’s not wait until we have one thousand confirmed cases to admit that we have a problem.
K Thomas
Couva