PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC)— Trinidad and Tobago Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh confirmed on Wednesday that the country has recorded its fifth death linked to the dengue virus.

“As we record our fifth laboratory-confirmed dengue-related death, I take the opportunity to inform the public that all state agencies continue to work collaboratively to reduce the mosquito population as far as possible,” Deyalsingh said in a release from the Ministry of Health.

In its epidemiological update on Wednesday, the ministry said there are now 450 laboratory-confirmed cases of dengue fever and five laboratory-confirmed deaths in the Caribbean country.

On July 12, Technical Director, Epidemiology in the country’s Ministry of Health, Dr Avery Hinds, told a news conference that “at this point pending the next batch update from the laboratory, we are still at 229 confirmed cases and two confirmed deaths”.

Deyalsingh reminded the public “of the vital role to be played in clearing all possible sources where clean, clear, standing water exists in their homes and properties, which is where the mosquito can live and breed”.

“Let’s continue to work together to reduce the incidence of dengue,” he said.

Trinidad and Tobago recorded its first dengue-related death on June 19, when a 65-year-old was listed as the first person to die from dengue fever that is spread by the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito.

The ministry said that symptoms appear within five to six days of being bitten (and) last for one to two weeks.

It said the symptoms include fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains, skin rash, vomiting and diarrhoea and that  individuals showing such symptoms should seek immediate medical treatment.

The ministry said it was reminding people that the best means of reducing the incidence of mosquito borne diseases is through the elimination of breeding sites.