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Public must be on the alert to prevent chikungunya!
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Public must be on the alert to prevent chikungunya!
We may no longer have to complain about the lack of rain. Our reservoirs and underground water tables are being filled everyday… And it may go on for a while yet. The meteorological centre in Vacoas has warned that the rain may persist throughout the week. Although it is most welcome to avoid drought – and water cuts – this rain may constitute a health hazard, as it may lead to the outbreak of certain diseases, especially chikungunya.
The ministry of Health, in collaboration with the private sector, has been intensifying the campaign against chikungunya for the past few weeks. As soon as heavy rains started, the campaign started on buses, television and radio as well as in schools. The kit for students supplied in all schools of the island, whose main sponsor is the Mauritius Commercial Bank with 25 others, is among the initiatives taken to try and avoid the serious situation the country had to face last year.
The Association of Hotels and Restaurants of Mauritius (AHRIM) reacted quickly when faced with a risk of propagation of the disease. As the hotel industry was the most affected by the chikungunya outbreak last year – with a 17 % drop in tourist arrivals from France – it does not want to wait and see and prefers to take action before the mosquitoes do...
It has distributed a pedagogical kit to all employees of the sector stating the precautions to be taken and the first measures in case of infection. Moreover, the hotels are very careful about cleaning their premises and surroundings to make sure the mosquitoes do not have the proper environment to breed. As for tourists, it is above all a matter of reassuring them and making them understand that everything is being done to avoid a recurrence of the epidemic. “In 2006, we were not ready. This year, we are,” sums up the Ahrim.
As far as the ministry of Health is concerned, it made it clear that the campaign has never really stopped. There have been regular efforts to inform and train people to avoid allowing water to accumulate in their homes and gardens, as mosquitoes reproduce in water. More recently, the ministry set up kiosks in supermarkets to sensitise the public.
The whole success of the campaign indeed rests on the response of the public. If all Mauritians behave in a responsible way, then the disease will have no chance of making a reappearance!
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