There have been 164 confirmed cases of chikungunya and 2,000 suspected cases in T&T, Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan says. Replying to Opposition MP Dr Amery Browne’s questions in Parliament yesterday, Khan said the 164 cases had been confirmed by testing.
He said a specific criterion for ChikV was swelling of the joints. Non-specific symptoms were fever, joint pain, malaise and rashes. Khan said people aged 20 to 30 experienced joint pains for two to three days while older patients suffered pains for longer.
He said there were other viruses with similar conditions to ChikV and the treatment for all was the same: Analgesics (painkillers) and rest. Khan also said Cabinet had agreed on a total project budget of $1,567,536,356 for the Point Fortin hospital construction. He said no date had yet been set for the sod-turning ceremony.