Westmoreland Health Teams Step Up Hantavirus Monitoring as Regional Concerns Grow

Public health teams in Westmoreland are keeping a close watch on hantavirus as worries grow across the wider region, even though Jamaica has yet to report a confirmed case of the illness. Medical Officer of Health for the parish, Dr. Marcia Graham, shared the update on Thursday, May 14, during the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation’s monthly sitting in Savanna-la-Mar.

Dr. Graham said screening and follow-up at the island’s ports of entry have been stepped up to reduce the chance that travellers could bring the virus into the country. Anyone flagged as a possible contact is tracked carefully, she added, because the illness can take between one and eight weeks to show symptoms. People who do contract the virus are typically kept in quarantine for a minimum of six weeks.

She stressed, however, that Jamaica currently has no suspected or confirmed hantavirus cases under active monitoring.

At the same time, Dr. Graham asked residents to stop sharing unverified health claims online. She pointed to bogus public notices that misuse the Ministry of Health and Wellness logo and urged the public to check facts with trusted bodies such as the Ministry, the World Health Organization, and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The parish health lead also repeated appeals for stronger mosquito-breeding prevention and better rodent control in neighbourhoods.

Separately, Dr. Graham flagged ongoing cases of accidental poisoning involving children in Westmoreland. “We’re still seeing too many children admitted to the hospital with accidental poisoning,” she said, calling on parents and caregivers to lock away household chemicals and other harmful products so youngsters cannot reach them.