{"id":13794,"date":"2014-12-08T11:02:37","date_gmt":"2014-12-08T11:02:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/viconsortium.com\/?p=13794"},"modified":"2014-12-08T12:52:55","modified_gmt":"2014-12-08T12:52:55","slug":"st-croix-residents-question-chikungunya-tracking-dept-of-health-responds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.viconsortium.com\/?p=13794","title":{"rendered":"St. Croix Residents Question Chikungunya Tracking, Dept. of Health Responds"},"content":{"rendered":"

The VI Consortium<\/em> has received\u00a0emailed complaints from a number of local residents, mostly from St. Croix, who are either suffering from the chikungunya virus or who know of someone who has been afflicted by it.<\/p>\n

Some have suggested that the Virgin Islands Department of Health (DOH) is not keeping accurate count of the number of people who are ill in the territory and others have suggested the department find alternative methods of fighting the debilitating disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One concerned resident, whose name is being withheld, wrote to VI Consortium<\/em>\u00a0about the current method being implemented by the DOH\u00a0to track the disease.<\/p>\n

“I [would] like to suggest that you interview the Territorial Epidemiologist Dr. Esther Ellis and ask her what is her source of data to track chikunguya. I imagine that the data is based on people who have seen a medical doctor at the hospital, clinic or privately. However, I know many people who have had chikungunya and never went for treatment. My husband had it two weeks ago and this week, 2 of my friends have it. None of them went for medical treatment. Many people do not go for treatment because there is no treatment, but [to] stay in bed, drink fluid, and take something for the fever,”<\/em> the woman wrote.<\/p>\n

She added: “I suspect that the Dept. of Health’s data is an underestimation of the true cases of chikungunya in the territory. I would like to encourage the Dept. of Health to have a hotline that people could call to report they believe they have chikungunya. The hotline operator can write down their symptoms and get more data to get a better count of the amount of suspected cases of chikungunya in the territory.”<\/em><\/p>\n

According to the latest report<\/a><\/span> from DOH, there have been 12 confirmed cases on St. Croix as of Nov. 1, compared to five confirmed cases on Nov. 5.\u00a0The number of suspected cases on St. Croix also rose substantially, with the island now seeing 338 of those cases as of Nov. 1, compared to 91 on Oct 4.<\/p>\n

VI Consortium<\/em> reached out to Dr. Esther Ellis for clarification on how the department collects its data.<\/p>\n

“The Department of Health has a dengue and chikungunya reporting form that has been shared with all healthcare providers (hospitals, clinics, and private physicians). This form is used for reporting suspected chikungunya cases to the department of health epidemiology department. The dengue-chikungunya reporting forms received are reviewed by the epidemiology division and entered into a database as a suspected case if it meets the criteria,” Dr. Ellis wrote in response to VI Consortium’s<\/em> emailed questions.<\/p>\n

According to Ellis, once the cases, suspected and confirmed, are recorded, “all data from the USVI is reported to the CDC who is tracking this outbreak worldwide.”<\/p>\n

Ellis said the DOH was assisted by the Center for Disease Control’s arboviral disease branch to develop its reporting form, database and educational training.<\/p>\n

“Through this assistance, we have improved case finding and surveillance, entomological response, and prevention and education,” she wrote.<\/p>\n

Dr. Ellis went on to explain how the department’s tracking system works.<\/p>\n

“Healthcare providers submit completed case report forms for suspected cases to the USVI Department of Health. These suspected cases are entered into an electronic database that was adapted and implemented by the epidemiologic team for monitoring arboviral diseases on USVI. On a weekly basis, an export of chikungunya and dengue cases in the database is uploaded to CDC\u2019s ArboNET, an electronic database for reporting arboviral diseases in the United States,” she wrote.<\/p>\n

In reference to the concerned resident’s suggestion that a hotline be created to better track chikungunya among those experiencing symptoms, but whom have not visited a healthcare provider, Dr. Ellis did not provide a direct answer, but stressed seeking medical care.<\/p>\n

“It is recommended that if someone is sick with chikungunya they seek care from their healthcare provider or at the Charles Harwood Medical Complex clinic or Frederiksted Health Clinic,” she wrote. “In this way, a trained medical professional can evaluate the patient and determine if chikungunya is suspected or not. It\u2019s important to remember that chikungunya is very similar to dengue clinically; however, dengue can have hemorrhagic manifestations and may require care from a medical professional.”<\/p>\n

There is no medical treatment\u00a0for the chickungunya virus or disease. According to the CDC website<\/a><\/span>, symptoms usually begin 3-7 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito:<\/p>\n