 The Ministry of Health and Wellness continues to note significant increases in the reported cases of dengue in St. Lucia. And this is particularly concerning as we have recorded both serotypes 2 and 3 to date and have noted quite a few infections in children. Most of the reported cases are in the northern, central and eastern parts of the island. Cases such as Raidui, Monroe, Caster City, Millet and Richfall, among other areas. Cases have also been reported in the south and in the west of the island but to a much lesser extent. Dengue is a viral illness as its name suggests. It is spread by an Aedes aegypti mosquito and it is caused by a virus and to a lesser extent transmitted by the Aedes albopictus. The mosquito lives in the community, lives among us, it likes fresh water. So it is a mosquito that is normally found in and around the homes. It is endemic to St. Lucia which means that it is something that we see every year. It is something that we record throughout the years in St. Lucia and it often peaks during the rainy seasons. There are four serotypes, 1, 2, 3 and 4 of dengue and normally when an individual is infected with one serotype, he or she receives lifelong immunity. However, if an individual is infected with a second type of dengue, a second serotype, he or she is likely to face a more severe clinical picture on the second infection. And this is why this is particularly concerning to us in St. Lucia that we have two serotypes in circulation. The dengue viral disease has an incubation of four to ten days after the bite and by the incubation period I am referring to the type between when the individual is infected and starts manifesting signs and symptoms. About three-quarter of the infections of dengue virus is asymptomatic, meaning that the person does not have any signs or symptoms or it produces a very mild infection which is normally difficult to differentiate from other illnesses. Also with COVID and with flu and with other illnesses, it sometimes becomes difficult for persons to determine whether they are having dengue or another viral illness. Persons with mild dengue may experience fever accompanied by rash, nausea, formatin, usually pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains. Now in its more severe form, persons may progress to bleeding of the mucosa which is the gums or from the nose. They may also start passing blood in the stool. They may also experience severe abdominal pain, excessive vomiting which may lead to dehydration. There is no specific treatment for dengue virus and most of what we do is symptomatic treatment, meaning that we treat persons based on how they present on the signs and symptoms that they present. Treatment for dengue is available in St. Lucia and the Ministry of Health and Wellness urges persons who may be experiencing signs and symptoms of dengue to seek help at any of the nearest wellness centers. Now because the vector requires water to breed, this is why we notice its peak during the rainy season. When the rains come in, the vector tends to breed in any, it's the smallest of receptacles. Also what we are asking the general public to do is assist in eliminating the breeding grounds for the vector and in that way we can control the spread of dengue in St. Lucia. So we ask persons to do frequent checks around the home, ensure that your buckets, your covers, everything is turned over and monitor your yard both inside and outside of your homes to ensure that you do not have breeding. We also ask persons to avoid the indiscriminate dumping of garbage. Please adhere to the times, the days and schedules for garbage collection in your community because as I indicated, these are very easy to collect water. Any receptacle from the smallest, from the stoppers can collect water and favor the breeding of the mosquito. Persons who have been diagnosed also with dengue would be asked to sleep under mosquito nets to avoid being bitten by the mosquito. And we also recommend the use of insect repellent to prevent bites from the mosquito and therefore inhibit further transmission of the virus from one individual to the other. Dengue is not a problem that we, that we are not used to, it is something that we are challenged with every year and it is something that we continue to call on the public to assist in prevention. After we can break the transmission cycle and the Ministry of Health and Wellness will continue to provide updates to the public at frequent intervals.