Following statements by the president of the Dominican Medical Association (CMD) in which he assures that there is no reason to create alarm, the Minister of Public Health reported that surveillance is always necessary, but they did not create alarm in this regard.
Victor Atallah explained that, as the ministry responsible for the health of the population, they informed the corresponding departments, namely, the areas of migration, customs, the Ministry of Defense, livestock and agriculture, of the possibility of the presence of the disease in Haiti.
“They (referring to the Ministry of Defense) took the initiative to make that statement, but it was not something that we took as a measure to alarm or create some kind of alert, but rather it is a surveillance,” he stressed, while reiterating that these are only suspicions, yet no diagnosis has been confirmed.
Ministry of Public Health.
In this regard, he said that they have only established the necessary surveillance patterns to ensure that the population is protected.
“In our last conversation with international organizations, a few minutes ago, the situation there is totally under control, it is a suspicion, there are isolated cases of consumption of spoiled meat; there is no reason for the Dominican people to feel alarmed at this time,” Atallah said.
The doctor clarified that anthrax in Haiti is a case that has persisted for a long time, however, on this side of the island there has not been a case of this bacterial disease for more than 40 years.
Disease is not transmitted from person to person
He commented that the disease is caused by very close contact with a putrefied animal almost always, or by a break in the skin that comes into contact with the spore, in some cases by inhalation of spores.
“I want to inform the population that anthrax is not transmitted from person to person, that is, if God forbid, I have anthrax, I will not give it to you by being here with you,” he stressed after calling on the population not to worry.
He pointed out that they are working to ensure that, in the event that cases are confirmed, the disease does not enter Dominican territory; however, he stated that the country has all the capacity to respond.
“Dominicans can rest easy because we have medicine and diagnostic tests,” he said after participating in the fourth Digital Health Forum.
Source: The Day
