By Tarnia Green,
Government Information Service
 Participants at Workshop
The Ministry of Health is actively involved in developing plans for addressing any outbreak of acute diarrhoeal disease which include cholera.
On Thursday, July 14, 2011, a one day workshop on cholera case management and risk communication in health was convened for healthcare professionals and other stakeholders at the public service union building.
The objective of such workshops was to inform participants of the fundamentals of risk communication and establish a working mechanism for the implementation of a risk communication plan.
The one day workshop also sought to provide training to health care workers on reporting, notification, case management, infection control and case investigation for cholera.
National Epidemiologist, Dr. Paul Ricketts, said that it’s important that the country take all proactive measures to ensure that cholera does not become a problem for health officials on the island.
 National Epidemiologist,
Dr. Paul Ricketts
“There are three to five million (5 000 000) cases with over one hundred thousand (100 000) deaths which occur annually around the globe. Of course, we are also speaking within the context of the new International Health Regulations 2005 which requires countries, including Dominica, to have plans in place to be able to identify these public held events of international concern which include cholera. Of course, our plans that we are making will also address other issues such as flu. However, but we have to also start thinking about other issues such as chemical events like if there is a chemical spill or some sort of radioactive or nuclear event.”
The workshops also looked at finalising a national acute diarrhoeal preparedness plan for the Ministry of Health.
Thursday’s workshops were facilitated by consultants from the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO). |
