NOT ENOUGH ATTENTION is being paid to leptospirosis in Barbados or the Caribbean.
That assertion has come from acting chief medical officer Dr Kenneth George, who has insisted that many cases of the potentially fatal disease are under-reported, even though laboratories have increased in proficiency.
George also lamented that leptospirosis was not frequently considered a public health priority.
“Although the laboratories throughout the Caribbean have increased both in number and technical proficiency, many cases of this disease continue to be under-reported.
“It is noted that many countries do not test for serovars [distinct variations within a species of bacteria or virus or among immune cells of different individuals] present and lack the ability to collect the information needed to garner a better understanding of transmission of the disease to humans,” George explained, as he delivered the feature address at the opening ceremony of a training workshop on Laboratory Methods For Leptospirosis Diagnosis at the Errol Walrond Building, UWI Clinical Skills Complex, Jemmott’s Lane, St Michael yesterday. (RB)
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