Last Updated on Thursday, 22 January 2026, 20:55 by Writer
Guyana would be issuing an alert to all health facilities to exercise extra vigilance for persons with severe bodily pains and fever seeking treatment due to an outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease, chikungunya, health minister Dr Frank Anthony said on Wednesday.
“Our system, I think, is fairly robust in terms of anything that comes in it will be reported through our system and we’ll be able to detect that but since a neighbouring country reported that they have had cases, we will put our health centres on alert and the hospital to make sure that if anything pops up that we’ll be able to detect it,” he told Demerara Waves Online News.
Suriname’s Ministry of Health confirmed eight cases of chikungunya but none of the persons travelled overseas in recent times. The tests were conducted by that country’s Central Laboratory of the Bureau for Public Health (BOG) and the laboratory of the Academic Hospital Paramaribo.
Dr Anthony said all hospitals, health centres and outposts are routinely expected to test for dengue and if the results are negative, tests are done for other flu-like infections after which serum samples are sent to the National Reference Laboratory for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for diseases like chikungunya.
He made it clear that so far “we haven’t seen any cases” of chikungunya based on weekly surveillance reports.
He said last year October there was one imported case from a Caribbean island.
In terms of killing and preventing mosquitoes, the health minister said the ministry had trained persons in the neighbourhood councils, equipped and supplied them with chemicals to do fogging. “All NDCs are responsible for their fogging. The ministry would normally monitor that because they have all the tools, they have everything to do fogging within the community,” he said.
He said the Georgetown City Council was similarly equipped and were being monitored, but the health ministry also fogs independently of the municipality.
The Suriname health ministry is advising people with fever and joint pain or swelling not to use aspirin or ibuprofen, but to take paracetamol for pain and fever.
Chikungunya is not transmitted directly from person to person and a past infection leads to lifelong immunity.
They also recommend drinking plenty of fluids, resting, and seeking medical attention if symptoms worsen.
The ministry in Paramaribo said that it will continue to provide the public with timely, accurate, and transparent information as more information becomes available.
The first chikungunya outbreak in Suriname occurred in June 2014, when the virus was first identified locally in the country as part of the broader spread of chikungunya in the Caribbean and surrounding regions.
The authorities are urging people to contribute actively to mosquito control by removing breeding grounds in and around homes, workplaces, and recreational areas, such as stagnant water in buckets, tires, flowerpots, and other containers.
It is also recommended to wear protective clothing that covers arms and legs and use mosquito repellent.
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