Guyana is ready to deal with Zika – VCS Director

Jun 04, 2015 News

As the vector-borne Zika disease continues to spread throughout sections of the Caribbean and South America, Guyana apparently has the capacity to deal with the virus if it makes its way here.

Guyana is on alert for the mosquito transmitted Zika virus

This is according to Director of the Vector Control Services (VCS) Dr. Reyaud Rahman who told this newspaper that the country is on the alert for the possible appearance of the Zika virus.
When questioned on the disease and Guyana’s capabilities in handling it, Dr. Rahman said that the country has the necessary training, equipment and chemicals needed to adequately deal with the virus.
“We are pretty much okay with it if it does come. It’s not too different from Chikungunya and we should be able to control it if it does come to Guyana,” Dr. Rahman said.
The likelihood of the disease entering Guyana is multiplied by the country’s highly porous borders. Currently, the Zika virus has been reported in nearby Brazil.
Though it has not yet been reported in Guyana, the director noted that, “it’s very, very close.”
Further, Dr. Rahman said that field assistants and officers were dispatched to different regions to tackle vector-borne diseases. However, he admitted that there are constraints, including the amount of personnel available to the VCS. He added that the priority areas are those which are densely populated.
“We are preparing in that way for any other vector-borne diseases like the Zika virus; we are on the alert and on the lookout for that,” Dr. Rahman emphasised.
He said too, that the VCS will attempt to counteract the virus by placing personnel at the Ogle Airport. There, passengers will be screened for any suspicious symptoms and possible cases can be captured.
“Ogle has international flights that come in from close places like Suriname and different places, so we’re trying to do that sort of thing to capture and ensure that we have those areas basically covered,” Dr. Rahman said.
He continued, “We’re doing our basic work and it’s very much repetitive; we just have to increase or decrease what we’re doing. But the main thing when dealing with vector-borne diseases, is to have good surveillance to ensure that you always have a good level of competent staff and workforce.”
Late last month, Chief Medical Officer Shamdeo Persaud had said that the Ministry of Public Health was on alert for the Zika virus.
As with similar Chikungunya intervention, Guyanese were warned to keep their environs clean and get rid of stagnated water.
The virus is spread by the same mosquito which spreads the Chikungunya and dengue viruses. Its symptoms include severe joint and muscle pains, fever, headaches, conjunctivitis and rashes.