Following an increase in dengue activity in several communities in St. Catherine over the past few weeks, the Ministry of Health is warning householders to take all the necessary precautions.

Persons are being advised to remove garbage from their properties and destroy all potential breeding sites for mosquitoes in and around the home.

The Ministry of Health is also advising persons suspected of having dengue fever to visit a doctor or health centre.

Dengue fever cases occur in Jamaica every year; however the risk of an outbreak may have been heightened due to the passage of Hurricane Dean, due to the settling of water which provides more breeding sites for the Aedes Aegypti mosquito which causes the disease.

The symptoms of the disease include fever, headaches, skin rash, pains of the muscles and eyes. Severe cases may have bleeding occurring from different parts of the body.