Deyalsingh: 29 treated after suspected meningitis deaths

HEALTH Minister Terrence Deyalsingh reports 29 people were treated after the deaths of two children from suspected meningitis, One had been attending a school in Moruga.

He was responding to an urgent question in the Senate today.

"On behalf of the honourable Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the people of TT," he said, "we want to express our deepest condolences to the family of two individuals, two young children, one aged four, who was not in school yet, and one aged five, for the passing of those most precious lives. One can only imagine what their parents and families are going through, and we condole with them."

He said prevention of an epidemic is based on four pillars and all four have been followed in this case, namely: environmental management, including sanitation; public education for the school, PTA, surrounding schools and general public; chemoprophylaxis (use of drugs to prevent a disease) and determining the most at-risk people who came into contact with the two children to give them antibiotics to prevent their contracting meningitis, if that is the cause; and vaccination.

"This country has a robust programme of vaccination. But there is no one vaccination to cover all 14 or 15 causes of meningitis."