Jamaica: Country Profile

Jamaica is a vibrant island nation in the Caribbean with a population of nearly 3 million people. Known for its rich cultural heritage and natural beauty, Jamaica has a diverse economy that relies on tourism, agriculture, and mining. The agriculture sector plays a significant role in rural livelihoods, with crops such as sugarcane, bananas, and coffee being key exports. Due to land use change from agriculture, mining, and other human activities that disrupt the interface of humans and animal/wildlife environments, Jamaica is increasingly vulnerable to emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). Further, characteristics such as environmentally driven displacement, poverty and inequality, a stressed healthcare system, and a moderately-sized agricultural workforce put Jamaicans at increased risk for other emergent health threats. Public health challenges include vector-borne diseases like dengue fever and chikungunya and other zoonotic diseases such as leptospirosis, which affect farmers and those in contact with animals.

The government of Jamaica is in the early stages of fostering collaboration among programs in human and animal health, the environment, and other related sectors including community development, policy, and education to address the interconnected health challenges of people, animals, and the environment. In October 2024, Jamaica held its inaugural One Health stakeholders meeting in Montego Bay to discuss the future of One Health in the country.

Jamaica Map

Priority Zoonotic Diseases

Jamaica has not yet had a Joint External Evaluation (JEE) or Voluntary External Evaluation (VEE) exercise to systematically identify and rank priority zoonotic diseases (PZD) of concern, however, the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) does recognize that PZD outbreaks occur in the country and are a preventable risk in need of addressing. Travelers and tourists, in particular, are high risk groups when they move between areas with high and low prevalence of a particular PZD. With Jamaica being a popular tourist destination with a history of recurring outbreaks, there is potential to spread infection within and across borders. The following is an overview of PZDs identified by the MOHW.

Chikungunya

Chikungunya is both a vector-borne and zoonotic disease transmitted through a virus that is spread to people by the bite of an infected mosquito, predominantly Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The most common symptoms of chikungunya are fever and joint pain. Other symptoms can include headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rash. The first case of chikungunya in Jamaica was reported in August 2014, and the virus spread from the urban areas in the east to the west. Chikungunya is now endemic to the island.

Dengue

Dengue fever, also known as break-bone fever, is a viral infection that spreads primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito, or other Aedes species. The most common symptoms of dengue are aches and pains (eye pain, typically behind the eyes, muscle, joint, or bone pain), nausea, vomiting, and rash. Jamaica is characterized by sporadic but persistent outbreaks of dengue fever. While now endemic to the island, the country has recorded seven major outbreaks of dengue fever, with the first in 1995 and most recent in 2023.

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)

Avian influenza is an infection by an influenza virus that can affect almost all species of birds, wild or domestic. It can be highly contagious, especially in chickens and turkeys, and can lead to extremely high mortality, especially in factory farms. To date, there has been no recorded case of HPAI in Jamaica.

Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis is a disease caused by the bacterium Leptospira that can be found in contaminated water or soil. It affects animals and people. Without treatment, leptospirosis in people can lead to kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, trouble breathing, and even death. The disease was first identified in Jamaica in 1953v. The annual incidence rate in Jamaica (per million population) is 78.

Zika

Zika virus is commonly spread to people by the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. It can also be spread to partners through sexual activity with an infected person. Zika virus can be passed from a pregnant person to their fetus, and may cause certain birth defects. Many people infected with Zika do not have symptoms or have mild symptoms. The most common symptoms are fever, rash, headache, joint and muscle pain, and red eyes. Zika was first reported in Jamaica in 2016.

One Health Landscape

The Jamaican government held a multi-sectoral workshop in April 2024, which included 56 representatives from the public and private sectors to develop a submission to the Pandemic Fund Secretariat. At the workshop, participants reviewed Jamaica’s SPAR score as well as their Essential Public Health Functions report. As a result, participants agreed that a national One Health Policy is required to manage public health emergencies.

Jamaica held a One Health Strategic Visioning Workshop on October 24-25, 2024. This was the second formal One Health coordination effort in the country. The objectives of the meeting were to introduce stakeholders to the One Health approach, collaboratively identify priorities for One Health implementation in Jamaica, jointly establish goals for One Health in Jamaica, and explore and propose potential governance models for One Health. This inaugural meeting brought together stakeholders from human, animal and environmental health sectors, including government ministries, civil society, academia and the private sector.

Jamaica envisions the following actors having a role in advancing One Health in Jamaica:

Summary of existing Breakthrough ACTION research

Breakthrough ACTION Jamaica conducted a capacity assessment on risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) in the context of global health security and zoonoses with two USAID implementing partners – Health Connect Jamaica (HCJ) and Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL) – in April 2024. The purpose of this capacity assessment was to evaluate the: 

organizational ability to lead, plan, and coordinate a response to outbreaks

institutional knowledge of relevant zoonotic diseases

operational ability and comfort collecting and analyzing data for RCCE

capacity for RCCE/SBC strategy development, design, and implementation

M&E capacity at the institutional level

Jamaica: Country Profile

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