Belize health officials say they are monitoring the outbreak of Dengue Fever in Central America and some Caribbean countries particularly as there have been reported deaths in Honduras.

Belize, a Central American country that is part of the 15-member Caribbean community grouping, says, “Source reduction strategies are the most effective way to prevent mosquito borne diseases”.

A statement from the Ministry of Health yesterday said it has taken note of what is happening in nearby Honduras where over 30,000 Dengue cases are reported; most are classified as severe or hemorrhagic.

The Ministry said in Honduras over 75 % of the reported cases are among young people.

The Ministry is urging people in Belize to ensure potential breeding locations, including: flower pot saucers, vases, tires, buckets, barrels, plastic drums and water storage containers are regularly cleaned, removed, turned over or treated to support the Ministry’s source reduction efforts.

The Ministry is also urging Belizeans to follow the advice of the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency in protecting themselves from mosquito bites, including sleeping under mosquito nets.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health said that as part of its ongoing initiatives to provide quality healthcare medications, it had submitted five different generic medications to the CARPHA’s drug testing laboratory, which is CARICOM’s regional reference laboratory for testing.

It said the medications range from antibiotics to anti-diabetic drugs that were sampled from the Public Sector and that all five unidentified medications have passed the quality tests performed as in keeping with international standards.