Westmoreland on alert for hand, foot and mouth disease as St. James drainage and El Niño heat risks loom

Westmoreland’s public health department is urging parents and school leaders to stay on high alert after a rise in hand, foot and mouth disease across the parish, medical officer of health Dr. Marcia Graham said on CVM’s Sunrise on July 13, 2026.

Young children in basic, infant and early childhood institutions are most exposed to the highly contagious illness. Most cases are mild and clear within about a week, but Dr. Graham advised keeping sick children at home until they recover, practising good hygiene and reporting illness promptly. Warning signs include fever, loss of appetite, sore throat, painful mouth sores and blisters on the palms, soles and often the buttocks. Public health inspectors and health educators are visiting affected schools once cases surface.

In St. James, flood-prone Katherine Hall and West Green are due for a lasting drainage overhaul after inspections following Hurricane Melissa exposed weaknesses in existing systems. Works minister Robert Morgan said floodwaters from the Montego River colliding with storm surge left some residents swimming through about 10 feet of water. The National Reconstruction Authority will lead the fix, which must go beyond bigger drains to account for storm surge and mud clearance after major floods.

Separately, a strengthening El Niño — unusually warm sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific — is expected to push Jamaica’s already high temperatures higher. The US Climate Prediction Center puts an 81 per cent chance on a very strong El Niño between October and December, potentially among the largest since 1950. Jacqueline Spence Hemmings, climate services manager at the Meteorological Service of Jamaica, warned that above-average heat is likely for the rest of this year and into early next year.

On the same broadcast, CVM sports reporter Kimmani O’Sullivan noted that the world’s top four FIFA-ranked sides — Argentina, Spain, France and England — had all reached the World Cup semi-finals, and tipped England to lift the trophy for the first time since 1966.