By Erica James-King, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
ANOTHER CONFIRMED case of typhoid has surfaced in Westmoreland, bringing the total to four.
Responding to queries from The Gleaner Monday, Shermaine Robotham White, public relations manager for the Health Ministry disclosed that tests by the health department had proved that one of two persons suspected of having the disease was confirmed with the illness.
"The latest person who was discovered with the disease is now out of hospital and so are the other three persons who were being treated for typhoid," Mrs. Robotham White said.
The three cases confirmed a month ago are a one-year-old male child, his 15-year-old mother and a 37 year old woman whom the authorities identified as the carrier of the disease. The Gleaner has learnt that the new typhoid case is that of a child living in the same yard where the other three confirmed cases were identified.
While declining to disclose the age of the fourth person infected with the disease, Mrs. Robotham-White was at pains to point out that typhoid infections in the parish had been contained.
"The typhoid cases are within normal limits for Westmoreland, which is a typhoid prone area. These cases do not represent a typhoid outbreak," the Ministry spokesperson said.
BACTERIAL INFECTION
Typhoid is a bacterial infection spread from person-to-person by way of food or water contaminated with the salmonella typhi bacteria. Among the symptoms of the illness are a sustained fever as high as 104F (or 40C), headache, loss of appetite, tiredness, constipation/diarrheoa and in some cases a rash of flat, rose-coloured spots.
In the meantime, the Westmoreland public health department has constructed two ventilated pit latrines for the yard where the infected persons reside. That yard was previously without toilet facilities. The ventilated improved pit latrines are specially made with sealed bottoms, so they will not allow sewage to seep into the water table.
The department is also implementing a health sensitization programme in the Shoulin Grotto area of Sav-la-mar, where the affected persons reside.
