The rain was a nice companion the last few days as I recovered. And a woman gave this to me the other day, a handmade reminder that with faith, all things are possible. A lovely thought.

This blog seems to be all ChikV all the time lately. Check out this song that appeared in the past few weeks. Enjoy your day.

Today is the first day I thought I was feeling more back to normal after being hit by ChikV. Not so fast. The rash and the all-over body ache have returned, as have the feelings of being run over by a truck after having run a marathon. And I would know as I ran a marathon last year. I also run a 10K most days. I am a fit person who is blessed with good health most of the time. But I have never experienced anything like this in my life. (This seems to be the nature of the virus, you think you are recovering, and then some new fresh hell hits you.) Going from running a 10K every day to barely being able to walk.

As I am feeling at least more mentally capable and just a little unstimulated after hours of tv-watching, I am inclined to describe what this illness is like, because as a writer, that’s what I do, and because there has been so little information from the authorities to fulfill the insatiable desire for updates for the Jamaican population. So here it goes, an account from the ChikV trenches, as fellow blogger Emma put it the other day. (I’m not writing this post for sympathy or to complain, perhaps more to provide information and to commiserate with what is expected to be up to 60 per cent of the JA population.)

The rash appeared Tuesday night. I was slightly alarmed but went to sleep as usual. Then the all-over body ache woke me up. I stood up to get some Panadol and could barely put any weight on my left side. I thought it was a running injury, the pain was so unique and strange. I went back to sleep and in the morning came out of my denial: I had ChikV. The rash was raging all over my torso, arms and legs and my face had turned bright red. The pain, in my joints, bones, muscles, skin, consumed me. My ab muscles felt as sore as if I had done 1,000 sit-ups. There were also weird waves of dizziness that made standing up interesting. I lay on the couch for the next few days, popping Panadol and drinking fluids.

The second and third day I fought an intense fever that came along with chills so strong I lay under a thick blanket all day and drank tea and porridge, which only warmed me up for about half-an-hour. Keep in mind Kingston’s 30+ degree heat. The labour and pain of getting up was intimidating and caused me to hunch over to avoid putting pressure on anything. The fever finally broke and I started to feel less pain. Then came the Night of Itching. I was awake until 4am itching, even though the rash had subsided. I am now dealing with exhaustion, some over-all pain and twinges that come and go in the joints. My skin is still slightly itchy and my lymph nodes are swollen and tender.

There has been much debate and confusion over this disease. (I should clarify that I did not get the blood test. Rather, I went to my doctor, she took one look at the rash and diagnosed me with ChikV). At this point, I don’t think that those afflicted care what they are diagnosed with. This is a nasty virus that should be avoided at all costs. Several of my friends who are suffering with it got it several weeks ago, and although most symptoms have subsided, they are having severe joint pain on and off. I gather this is a relatively new disease and vaccines are still under development. Hopefully this research continues, especially for the sake of vulnerable populations such as the elderly, infants, pregnant women and those with suppressed immune systems. I am seeing the end of this virus approaching for me and I am grateful that it is not permanent. I hope that the government address tonight sheds more light on what measures are being taken to prevent further transmission.

I have become quite interested in this matter of Chikungunya for a couple of reasons, mainly because it is a matter of public health and protecting vulnerable populations, but also because it is a matter of productivity.

Apparently, I have become so interested that my body has decided to do some firsthand, investigative reporting by contracting this virus. I have now been diagnosed with it. The rash appeared last night, all over my torso, arms and legs. Then I awoke at 2am (not to go back to sleep) with body aches and pain in the joints in only the left side of my body. (At first I thought it was a running injury because I cannot put full weight on my left side.) I am exhausted as well.

All symptoms of Chikungunya, but according to a friend of mine who is a nurse, it is the rash that is distinguishing ChikV from influenza and dengue, both of which she says are also going around. Let’s just say it is not pleasant. After a visit to the doctor to confirm this, I was sent home with an order to rest, get plenty of fluids and take Panadol (acetaminophen). There is nothing else you can do.

I have heard that pharmacies are sold out of Panadol and this turned out to be the case at two popular locations I tried. So I had to get the generic pain-killer. My nurse friend, who works at an inner-city clinic where most patients are very poor, says she is seeing about 35 cases per day. Because her clinic does not have the funds to run tests on everyone, they are only testing one in ten people who come in with suspected symptoms. In addition, they are now sending the samples over to Trinidad as local labs are overrun. It costs $8,500 per test.

Just a quick update on this issue that now seems to be affecting the entire population, on one level or another.

Yesterday I visited the community of Parade Gardens. Fleet Street to be specific. It is a small, inner-city community. The taxi driver had no idea where to go. It is one of those communities that most people don’t go to unless they live there. Like most of these communities, it is lively and vibrant. It is also barren in terms of vegetation, many of the homes are in disrepair and garbage sits in piles here and there. A group of four policemen in their navy blue uniforms sat nearby on a bench, eating some lunch. Mothers passed by with their tiny children, a blind man made his way up the middle of the street with the assistance of a stick and a young man and teenagers heading home from school walked slowly in groups. A dark cloud hovered overhead but it never rained.

The way the government is handling the Chikungungya outbreak continues to mystify. The latest count puts the official diagnosis of cases at 31 (and 251 suspected cases). This cannot be right. Everywhere you go, people are discussing how either they have ChikV or they know someone who has it. I know of at least a dozen people who have it, including a baby.

True, they have not had it confirmed by blood test, but as a Gleaner columnist pointed out yesterday, the test can cost up to $150. Many of the people who have it reside in the rural parish of St. Thomas, where they likely cannot afford it. (A Jamaica Observer story revealed last week that close to 200 students were absent and 25 per cent of teachers due to the illness). Also, what is the incentive for someone to pay for a test to confirm what they already know- that they are suffering? (If it is so necessary for the government to collect this information, then they should absorb the cost.) Treatment is the same whether it is the flu, dengue or chikv, as far as I can tell.

According to a rumour circulating, one person with the disease flew to Jamaica from St. Maarten, which is how it initially spread. They visited the small town of Trinityville in St. Thomas and it caught on from there. I have also heard that people are afraid that it is now not only being spread by mosquitos, but through human contact. I have also heard that if you drink tea made from dried papaya leaves, you can rid your system of it immediately. Why am I repeating rumours and speculation? I wouldn’t normally, but I do so to prove a point: people are not informed properly (and why should they be experts in such diseases, this is the government’s job), so stories spread like the virus itself: with speed and stealth.

I have many more questions: Is it at epidemic levels? I don’t know, but it seems to be. There is little in the way of education or help from the government. Although as fellow blogger Emma revealed last week, the Ministry of Health has finally issued a number for people to call regarding the illness. And the Minister of Health addressed Parliament regarding the issue last week. (I can’t find anything official on its web site, however, it did discuss the issue with the Observer last week. In addition, Minister Ferguson wrote a column in the Observer.)

Why does the government seem so obsessed with officially confirming the number of cases? If it is not chikv, then it is dengue, or a severe flu. In all cases, a statement regarding how people should prevent and treat whatever ailment it could be is necessary. (I understand the need to confirm cases in order to stave off mass panic. I imagine there are also reasons related to funding in terms of declaring a pandemic or epidemic, but I am not an expert in this area, of course. This could explain the government’s reluctance, but again, more communication, would be better.)

Why is the government not consistently fogging? The parish of St. Thomas (where it originated) was only partly fogged (I was actually caught up in one of the giant clouds when they were doing it, so I can confirm that they did in fact fog, but not the entire area.)

Unfortunately, it appears there isn’t much you can do to prevent it, other than traditional methods like covering up and using repellent (which is flying off the shelves). And once you are infected, you can only get rest, take acetaminophen and drink fluids to alleviate the severe pain. But I also wonder, should the government provide information as to what vulnerable populations (the sick, elderly and children) should do if they catch it? Are they at more risk? An alarming story from the Dominican Republic reveals that 109 babies have died and 500,000 people are affected.

To conclude, here is the World Health Organization’s web site on the virus. It seems to be the best place to go right now for information.

Not sure who to credit for photo, but it comes from On the Ground News Report’s web site

Oh dear, yet another “daggering” controversy. Minister of Health Fenton Ferguson at an partisan rally and engaged in this sexually suggestive type of dance in front of a crowd. No comment. Enjoy your Friday.

Cuso International recently released its annual report and one of the youth who has participated in Youth Opportunities Unlimited’s programming is featured in it. Navada Smith is a young man who is currently enrolled in one of the government’s training programs. He has already won an award for his conduct and is continuing to succeed in his quest to reach his goals. Read his story at the link above and enjoy your day.

I was in a route taxi yesterday when it pulled up beside a battered police truck. There were three police officers in it, wearing their navy blue uniforms and caps. One of them, on the lefthand side, had a rifle perched on his knee. The long barrel was sticking out the window. We stopped beside them, my eyes followed the trajectory of the barrel (the angle of the picture isn’t quite so because we kept moving and I almost lost my nerve to snap this picture) and landed upon this mural in Crossroads. It appeared within the last year or so, a colourful piece of graffiti calling for peace and love. It is hard to see, but it reads in part: “THERES NO PEACE INNA WAR”.

Who knew Canadian pork is prized here in Jamaica. I spotted this ad the other day in the Jamaica Gleaner and became curious as to how much pork Jamaica imports from Canada. (According to this web site, Canada is one of the only countries with which Jamaica maintains a trade surplus, which includes pork, although this site appears dated). It is difficult to find numbers, but it appears to be a substantial amount. And the “genetics” are apparently the best, according to this ad.

A little bit of research reveals that pork producers are suffering as a result of government policies dating back to 2007, when legislators adopted import reduction tactics. There is now a glut of local pork and farmers are demanding a price increase. According to the Jamaica Observer, the Ministry of Agriculture estimates the

registered pig sector produced just under 9.5 million kilograms of pork in 2012 up from just over 7.1 kilograms in 2011. In 2012 dress cuts produced locally amounted to 7.9 million kilos while edible offals were quantified at 1.582 million kilos, up from 5.925 million kilos of dress cuts and 1.185 million kilos in edible offals the previous year.

A World Bank-funded study conducted on behalf of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) by local firm Trevor Hamilton and Associates, which was published last year, placed the value of Jamaica’s pork industry at $6.4 billion.

The story also states that imports are now restricted to only select parts of the pig. I wonder why Jamaica would need to import any pork at all, as I would assume conditions here are conducive to raising pigs. And I wonder why this ad is running and what it is all about…