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Owen Phillips, who resides in Kingston, took both of his sons to a doctor weeks ago after they showed flu-like symptoms. After getting medication, the five- and seven-year-old boys recovered. But days later, the younger sibling fell ill again - only this time, with the notorious dengue haemorrhagic fever.

Since the beginning of 2019, over 10,000 cases of dengue have been detected. There have been over 40 fatalities, and that number is made up mostly of people from ages five to 14 years old.

Phillips told THE WEEKEND STAR that he was petrified at the thought of his boys being sick with the flu, let alone dengue.

"You have to be terrified seeing yuh son sick enuh, and behaving a way. Seeing yuh son at hospital with needle inna him hand, drip pon him and all dem ting deh, yah go terrified, whether a dengue or not," he said.

"The doctor said the fever caused him to behave boisterous ... He was, like, fighting off the nurses and never want the treatment. So the fever did a cause dah likkle brain confusion deh."

Phillips said he took his sons to see a doctor when they showed flu-like symptoms, and inquired whether they could have contracted the dengue haemorrhagic fever. He was assured that they did not.

"I took them to the doctor like a week before, and dem seh a flu dem have. I even ask the doctor if it's dengue. He said the symptoms are similar, but it seems to be the flu. They were coughing and vomiting. So, him tell me seh if dem a brush dem teeth and I see any form of blood, I must take them to the hospital immediately," he recalled.

Shortly after, the younger son fell ill again.

"Dem give them medication and everything. Basically, dem recoup after the medication, then him (five-year-old) got sick again. Thursday, he was playing and everything ... he was even better than his brother.

"By the weekend, he started feeling ill again. His mother took him to Children's (Bustamante Hospital for Children) on Wednesday and that's when we realised that he had the dengue.

"This is an epidemic!," said the distraught father, whose boy is now in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital.