AN Edmonton family struck down with dengue fever has taken public health officials to task for not being quick enough to respond.
At least 14 people are confirmed to have contracted the virus in Edmonton, Brinsmead, Trinity Beach and Mooroobool since December 11, and 35 cases have been reported from the Tully/El Arish area since January 14.
Edmonton woman Julie Haysom’s husband Ian Kuch was diagnosed with dengue on Monday last week.
Two days later, their 18-year-old son Shannon was confirmed to have the debilitating virus and then three days ago, doctors confirmed Ms Haysom also has it.
She said the illness was like nothing she had ever experienced and it was a struggle to stay awake for longer than 20 minutes.
“We’ve got aches and pains, stabbing pains in my muscles and sore back,” she said.
“Just a general feeling of terribleness.”
She said there appeared to be a breakdown in communication between Queensland Health doctors and the Dengue Action Response Team, with the DART crew attending their home six days after her husband was diagnosed with dengue.
“It was too long a time for them to deal with it,’’ she said.
Acting Cairns Public Health Unit director Dr Steven Donohue said there was no serious delay between the reporting of the family’s dengue and the response team spraying for mosquitoes around their home.
“Dengue control really is a race and we’re constantly looking at all the delays to see if we can short circuit or quicken those steps,’’ he said.
He said it appeared the three members of the family became infected within three days of each other – too soon for health crews to act.
“Because the incubation period is about a week, they all would have been infected before we knew all of the cases, and probably couldn’t have been prevented,’’ he said.
“We’re fighting on two fronts Tully/El Arish and Innisfail, which is one outbreak, and Cairns.
“So you’re splitting your teams and sometimes when we’re extremely busy, it might take us another couple of days because we don’t have the teams on the spot.”
Dengue symptoms include fever with severe headaches, muscle and joint pains, and other symptoms may include a rash, vomiting and diarrhoea