Officials have asked citizens to cooperate and do everything they can to get help get rid of any receptacle that can keep stagnant water.
Last week a top official from the Insect Vector Control (IVC) Division of the Health Ministry said last week unofficial statistics show that there are more than 1,800 reported cases of dengue fever in Trinidad and Tobago. An eight-year old child has died from dengue so far this year.
Specialist medical officer Dr Clive Tilluckdharry revealed the figure to reporters at a news conference.
He said four types of the fever are present in the country, adding that at any given time there could be increased activity.
Tilluckdharry said there are between 500 and 600 cases a year but in recent years that figure had increased. Up to July this year, there have been 1,885 reported cases.
He said the highest number is in the country of St George East, where there are 445 reported cases so far.
He also provided statistics for other years. He said in 1999 dengue cases dropped to 1,192 and fell even more between 2004 and 2007. The total number of cases for those years was 2,340 - an average of 485 a year. The lowest number reported was in 2005 with 400 cases.
Tilluckdharry said there was a rise again starting in 2008 when 4,921 cases were reported. The number dropped to 2,508 in 2009 and rose to 4,894 in 2010.
He gave a breakdown of reported cases by county for January to July 22:
• St George West—159
• St George Central—270
• St George East—445
• St Andrew/David—226
• Caroni—332
• Victoria West—138
• Victoria East/Nariva/Mayaro—108
• St Patrick—207
There are no reported cases in Tobago. Officials in the island are taking precautions to ensure that it remains that way.
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