No cholera detected

WESTERN BUREAU:

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton says Jamaica has no confirmed cholera cases after Hurricane Melissa, though leptospirosis has surfaced in several parishes, prompting intensified public health measures.

Leptospirosis cases span eight parishes — St Ann, St Mary, St James, Hanover, Westmoreland, St Elizabeth, St Catherine and Trelawny.

“There is no indication of cholera. We do have leptospirosis across the affected parishes in particular, but the team is working hard and there is collaboration with agencies like the National Solid Waste Management Authority for the clean-up. The stagnant water is being cleared, the solid waste removed, and I think we are making progress, Tufton told The Gleaner during a tour of the Type 2 field hospital in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, donated by Barbados.

“If there were cases of cholera, I would have been told,” he explained before assuring that work is being done to prevent the spread of leptospirosis, noting that the number of person being presented with the virus was expected given the severity of the hurricane. “We are moving into a phase where you will see things getting better rather than worse.”

The reassurance is tempered by memory. In 1851, cholera swept Jamaica, killing an estimated 40,000 people – nearly one-tenth of the population – and leaving mass graves across the island.

Archival accounts describe the period as one of the darkest chapters in Jamaica’s public-health history, with parishes overwhelmed by sudden illness, dehydration, and death. While Jamaica has not recorded a confirmed cholera outbreak since the 19th century, and no documented community transmission in modern times, the memory of that catastrophe still shapes national vigilance around water safety after storms.

Leptospirosis remains a pressing threat, particularly in agricultural parishes where residents must wade through polluted floodwaters. Public-health teams have stepped up water sampling, sanitation inspections and health-promotion activities in communities hardest hit by Melissa’s rains.

Tufton also stressed that while the outbreak is being managed, it poses no significant risk to tourists. “We have discerned no great risk as it relates to facilities that cater to tourists, including hotels and attractions. These facilities undergo certification in collaboration with local health and tourism authorities. We are not issuing an advisory to discourage visitors, but to alert vulnerable communities that have been identified,” Tufton said.

Officials reminded the public that leptospirosis is preventable, treatable and survivable if detected early. The advisory urges residents to wear protective gear during clean-up, avoid floodwater, secure food and water supplies, and maintain a clean environment.

Tufton said that work is underway to restore safe drinking water, with the Ministry of Health and Wellness partnering closely with the island’s main water producer of potable water. “There are a number of efforts to get the water pure for drinking. We have been testing water systems as part of our ongoing collaboration with the National Water Commission(NWC),” he said.

He explained that water shortages were caused not only by contamination but by the widespread collapse of Jamaica’s electricity grid.

“The initial phase of water shortages was due to the loss of electricity and the NWC’s inability to pump water. They used generators in the initial stages, but as you know, electricity is slowly coming back and they are giving priority to places like the NWC, so you will see more reliable water in the coming days and weeks.”

While turbidity – cloudiness caused by disturbed sediment – was a concern immediately after the storm, Tufton also said that is now improving.

“The initial concern about water safety, even in the case of the NWC, was the turbidity after the storm. Now having gone four weeks, you will see a dissipation of that,” he said, while urging residents to continue boiling water, avoid contact with floodwaters, and to seek medical attention quickly if they experience fever, vomiting, or severe diarrhoea.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com