By Keile Campbell

In the latest update concerning the outbreak of Dengue Fever – which
stands at 88 cases as revealed by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, one
of those cases has claimed the life of a nine year-old boy, revealed by
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pearl McMillan.
Although details of the case could not be provided, Dr. McMillan expanded
upon the Dengue Fever-related death as much as she could.
“He would’ve presented with a viral type illness, but did not continue with
the care that was provided, and unfortunately he succumbed to the illness.
We later got the result back, and we know that it was dengue.” Dr. McMillan
explained.
“Certainly the Ministry of Health would’ve been notified of this death, and
the history behind it. The specifics of when and how, that not information
that we will provide.
When questioned further as it pertains to “not continuing with care
provided”, Dr. McMillan responded as such. “They would’ve sought care,
and they did not complete. It could’ve been they did not come back to the
facility or they didn’t take meds or whatever, but I’m saying that is the
information we would’ve been provided with. This is reported into the
ministry as a death, that would’ve been a dengue-related death”
As it relates to the exact breakdown of cases, particularly those that
required the attention of hospital services, Managing Director of the Public
Hospital Authority (PHA) Dr. Aubynette Rolle gave a detailed breakdown of
cases seen so far at The Bahamas tertiary health care facility Princess
Margaret Hospital (PMH).
“At the Princess Margaret Hospital we can say that we have had 19persons
who would’ve been admitted as inpatients as a result of testing positive for
dengue. We’re happy to also confirm that 14 of them have been
discharged, and we have the remaining five patients there.” Dr. Rolle
explained.

“Also at the Rand Memorial Hospital, we would’ve tested ten persons who
had symptoms similar to dengue, and out of the ten six were positive. We
did have one admission, but to date there are no patients hospitalized.”
“I think a lot of that is attributed as well in terms of persons going in and
visiting the nearest clinics, to have the assessments done so we’re not
lagging behind. We can confirm that we have several tests that are pending
results, and once we get those confirmed, we will be able to advise at a
later date, but that is our position now at those hospitals.”
Residents nation-wide are encouraged to eliminate all mosquito breeding
habitats around homes, businesses, churches and vacant properties.