The Ministry of Health & Wellness has declared an outbreak of Dengue in Jamaica. The outbreak comes as the Ministry’s National Surveillance Unit advised that Jamaica has surpassed the Dengue epidemic threshold for July and August and is on a trajectory to do the same for the month of September. This means, the country has seen an increase in the number of cases compared to what is normally seen during these months of the year.
As of Friday, September 22, 2023, the country had recorded 565 suspected, presumed, and confirmed cases of Dengue. Of that number, 78 cases had been confirmed with the majority of the cases seen in Kingston & St. Andrew, St. Catherine, and St. Thomas. The dominant strain is Dengue Type 2, which last predominated in 2010. There are no Dengue-related deaths classified at this time, however, six deaths are being investigated.
