By: Staff Writer
April 28, 2023
The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) had its 67th Annual Health Research Conference in Nassau, Bahamas at the Atlantis Paradise Island resort where tourism industry professionals met with healthcare professionals over two days to discuss the health challenges facing the region and by extension the tourism product.
Dr Pearl Mcmillan, chief medical officer in The Bahamas said that the healthcare professionals are not asking for on the spot diagnosis of diseases, but “syndromic surveillance,” where professionals target certain symptoms and share it with the wider health community before it becomes contagious and widespread.
Syndromic surveillance is a system that allows public health to keep in touch with the health of the community in real time. It can allow for rapid identification of possible outbreaks and problems, help public health keep track of ongoing issues, and provide situational awareness about the community.
Dr McMillan added: “Because when we pull that (syndromic surveillance data) together, particularly if we get that from one or two properties, well, if we get two or three (reports) from one property, then we know; something must be going on there, then we could make a visit and determine whether or not this is something that could be a potential huge outbreak.”
Collaboration is the only thing that can save the region from the catastrophic impact of another pandemic.
Nicola Madden-Greig, president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, added that while COVID-19 did in fact challenge tourism, there was another health scare in that of the monkeypox epidemic that happened shortly after the COVID-19 started to get under control.
“There were news articles saying that we need to be careful and it was great to have the relationship with CARPHA that we could have picked up the phone and ask should we be in absolute ramp up mode and get all of the hoteliers in space.
“We were able to get good guidance that says we’re monitoring… and right now things look fine. Don’t fret because there was almost a panic that was about to set in in the industry and this relationship.
“We were able to give good guidance to our members in the Caribbean, we were able to say; look, CARPHA is on top of things there is we have we will tell you if we need to panic. We are good. So again, collaboration, partnership trust and being able to share data and share insights which is invaluable is the only way to help in a crisis.