Another Suspected Dengue-Related Death of a Student

There is a report that a Xiabe resident and student from Corozal Junior College died after contracted dengue. This is the second student in the past two weeks who has reportedly died as a result of dengue. On November fifth, fourteen-year-old Sacred Heart College student Jennifer Moreno died at the K.H.M.H., twenty-four hours after she was rushed to the medical facility in Belize City. It is highly suspected that she died from complications associated with disease. In both cases, the Ministry of Health has launched an investigation to determine whether in fact dengue was the cause of death or any other underlying condition. Today, Minister of Education Patrick Faber expressed concerns over the recent cases involving students.

Patrick Faber

Patrick Faber, Minister of Education

“Of course I do wish to sympathise with the families of these two students that you speak of. I think that it is an unfortunate thing. This is not something that people should be dying from. We should certainly be at a stage where we should prevent such deaths. I join with the Ministry of Health to of course encourage the enabling of the environment to not have these kinds of mosquito diseases. I know for instances that some of our school campuses right here in Belize City there are a lot of mosquitoes; my son goes to school with his Off. But all our school administrations ought to do what they need to do in order to make sure that the kids who are really kept hostage, if you will, in the school for the entire day. We must do what we need to do in order to make sure that that environment is mosquito free.”