The Minister of Health, Dr. Lackram Bodoe, says the population of Trinidad and Tobago remains vulnerable to mosquito-borne diseases.
The Minister made the statement as he opened a two-day programme hosted by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) on the prevention and control of outbreaks of Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases in the Caribbean.
Sharing statistics, he revealed that in 2024, over 2,000 dengue cases, with 19 deaths, were reported in Trinidad and Tobago.
He noted that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes remain widespread across the country, with the risk of Zika, dengue, and other mosquito-borne diseases being ever-present.
“Our country continues to show progress with a notable decline in dengue cases in 2025, we keep our fingers crossed, compared to 2024, reflecting to some extent the effectiveness of increased surveillance and vector control. Since the last recorded outbreaks, no confirmed local cases have been reported for Zika, I’m told, and only one chikungunya case has been reported.”
The Minister said CARPHA’s 11th EDF Zika Programme reinforces this country’s national capacity for vector-borne disease prevention and control.
“Through this initiative, extensive training has been provided for our insect vector control personnel in areas such as GIS mapping, new vector control technologies, integrated vector management, surveillance and database systems, and insecticide resistance testing.”
Dr. Bodoe officially opened a new mobile insectary at CARPHA’s headquarters in Port of Spain.
Director of Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control Division at CARPHA, Dr. Horace Cox, said the testing of mosquitoes to learn if they are resistant to chemicals used to control them is just one of many activities conducted at the facility.
“The improvements include improved infrastructure, more equipment, improved process flow because we have now our larger facility and, of course, we would have used all the experiences from the previous one to inform not only the design, but the building of this one. So we are very happy today to commission this because we really feel that it will resonate in addressing the need that exists at Member State level.”