Jordan | Health announces its measures to deal with West Nile fever

2024-07-10 2024-07-10T13:02:38Z

Weather of Arabia - The Secretary-General of the Ministry of Health for Primary Health Care and Epidemics, Dr. Raed Al-Shaboul, said that the Ministry has developed a comprehensive plan to deal with West Nile fever disease. The plan included introducing the disease and the local epidemiological situation, the Ministry’s readiness to respond, and the role of national partner institutions in intensifying spraying and control operations. Vectors (insects and mosquitoes).

West Nile fever

Al-Shaboul explained in a statement to the Jordanian News Agency (Petra) that after reports of cases of West Nile fever in neighboring countries were received, a meeting of the National Committee for Combating Epidemics was held at the beginning of this month to come up with national recommendations to combat and prevent the spread of the disease.

He pointed out that the Ministry activated active monitoring in high-risk locations by increasing the number of samples for suspected cases, and circulated to all staff working in health institutions about the mechanism for dealing with disease cases when they are registered.

Al-Shaboul confirmed that the Ministry has a map of the spread of mosquitoes based on studies, which includes all types of disease vectors, and conducts the necessary tests for more than 15 diseases, including West Nile fever. Antibody testing for this disease is also available.

He pointed out that the Ministry of Health provides all laboratory tests for infectious diseases of epidemiological concern free of charge for all suspected cases in the Kingdom, regardless of the nationality of the infected person. Information related to the disease and its vectors was circulated to all health institutions, royal medical services, university hospitals, and private sector hospitals, and awareness brochures were prepared about the disease and methods of personal prevention.

Al-Shaboul explained that liaison officers had been identified to follow up on any suspected case and coordinate the transfer of laboratory tests, and the relevant ministries and government institutions were circulated about vector control methods, especially in the Ghori and Shifa Ghoriyeh areas, the border areas, and areas containing stagnant water bodies.

He pointed out that the Ministry worked to raise awareness and educate the local community through all available means about the disease and ways to prevent it through the Ministry’s website and its social media sites.

He added that the ministry also developed an action plan to combat vectors, which includes spraying insects and mosquitoes in the air and on bodies of water, in cooperation with the relevant ministries and institutions. The plan also includes monitoring the disease in migratory, wild, and dead birds in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Royal Scientific Society for the Protection of the Environment, and forming field teams to review the situation.

Al-Shaboul said that West Nile fever is transmitted from infected birds to humans through mosquito bites, noting that humans are considered the last reservoir of the virus and do not transmit the disease to another person and do not need to be isolated.

He explained that the disease does not pose a major threat to public health in the Kingdom, and no spread of the disease has been recorded since 2020, when only 6 cases were recorded at that time. He pointed out that 80% of cases are asymptomatic, while only 20% show symptoms, and 1% of those infected suffer from severe symptoms (acute encephalitis).

He stressed that the Ministry of Health has a selected monitoring program (AFI) to monitor suspected cases in selected geographical locations, which include the highest-risk areas such as the Ghoriyeh and Shafa Ghoriyeh areas, due to the spread of mosquitoes there.