Like many tropical island nations, Jamaica is susceptible to frequent outbreaks of dengue and other mosquito-transmitted diseases. However, a long history of viral epidemics has provided Jamaica with a plethora of guidance and information on how to minimize an outbreak of dengue fever in Jamaica effectively.

Life in Jamaica

Jamaica is the third largest island located in the Caribbean Sea, after Cuba and Hispaniola – the land mass containing Haiti and the Dominican Republic. With a history of both Spanish and British colonialism, Jamaica once possessed the highest wealth disparity in the world. To this day it is one of the poorest countries in North America despite receiving the label of upper-middle-income country. In recent decades, however, the country has been taking successful steps towards strengthening the economy and increasing GDP. This resulted in a recorded GDP increase of 4.4% between 2021 and 2022, and a consequent decline in the poverty rate by 10% since 2020.

Despite having an approximate population of only 2.8 million on an island that is 10,990 square kilometers in size, residents often live in densely populated areas with nearly a third of the whole population residing in the country’s capital – Kingston. Often, these closely confined living conditions become the epicenters of outbreaks and exacerbate the rate at which the disease spreads.

Historic Dengue Outbreaks in Jamaica

Over the past 30 years, Jamaica has had seven previous dengue outbreaks, with the first case in 1995. Dengue fever is a virus spread to humans through the bite of an Aedes aegypti mosquito and common presentations of the disease include muscle and joint pain as well as a headache and other fever-related symptoms. In 2019, dengue received the classification as one of 10 global health threats following an outbreak across the American continent.

By the end of the outbreak, dengue in Jamaica was responsible for 86 deaths and 10,411 cases. By comparison to the previous outbreaks of 2007 and 2012 in which there were reports of 5,462 and 5,903 cases, respectively, the 2019 outbreak was much more severe. In addition, in the 2019 outbreak, 0.83% of afflicted individuals required medical intervention, almost double that of the two previous outbreaks. Experts thought the severity of this outbreak was a consequence of the 2014 Chikungunya and 2016/2017 Zika outbreaks depriving the countries of resources for disease control.

Recent Outbreaks

As of Sept 23, 2023, dengue in Jamaica has reached a prevalence in which the country confirmed an outbreak. This declaration is on the back of the Jamaican Ministry for Health and Wellness announcing earlier in the month that the number of reported Dengue cases in July and August has surpassed the threshold for an epidemic. Furthermore, predictions determined that a similar number of cases would occur in September.

As it stands there are 565 cases of dengue in Jamaica, however, only 78 have been confirmed with the majority of those being in just four parishes – Kingston, St Catherine, St Andrew and St Thomas. Fortunately, there have been no confirmed deaths, but six previous deaths are undergoing investigation. Although the current statistics do not suggest that this outbreak will be as devastating as those previously, there are concerns surrounding the potentially detrimental impact this epidemic will have on the tourism industry which the Jamaican economy is so reliant upon.

Despite this, Jamaica has implemented several measures to help curb the impact of this outbreak. These include deploying an additional 500 workers to high-risk areas, extending the opening hours of health care facilities as well as establishing national centers in all 14 parishes to help monitor localized outbreak sources. In addition, since the previous 2019 outbreak of Dengue in Jamaica, the government has invested $300 million JMD ($1.9 million) in a disease control program to better prepare the country against future outbreaks.

Despite the recent declaration of a dengue fever outbreak in Jamaica, the current statistics do not suggest that this outbreak will be as severe as previous outbreaks. Furthermore, the country appears to be in a position to overcome the epidemic without causing economic instability or a great loss of life.

– Holly Coop
Photo: Flickr