Zika Virus spreads to outlying areas – CMO confirms

Aug 20, 2016 News

Although the Ministry of Health has confirmed just over 40 cases of the Zika Virus, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Shamdeo Persaud, has revealed that the virus is spreading. According to the CMO, cases have even been detected in

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud

Region One – a hinterland location.
“At least two positive cases have been confirmed in Region One. We continue to monitor and test in some of the outlying areas,” said Dr Persaud, as he informed that the spread of the virus might be linked to the fact that “people are moving a lot.”
Moreover, he noted, there continue to be cases confirmed along the coastal Regions. As such Dr Persaud said that the Public Health Ministry has started and will keep on closely monitoring other outlying Regions such as Seven, Eight and Nine.
“It is not only East Bank and Georgetown that cases have been reported but it has spread a little bit beyond that…positive confirmation is about 42 cases but there might be a few more that are pending final results,” the CMO added.
He, however, noted that there might be a number of cases that the Ministry may not even be aware of. This is simply because if blood samples are not tested in the early stages of the infection and persons receive symptomatic treatment, the virus will not be detected at a later stage.
“There is a small window when the sample has to be collected and tested, and of course we only sample and test a proportion of persons,” Dr. Persaud admitted.
Currently Guyana relies on the Caribbean Public Health Agency in Trinidad for testing support, but according to Dr. Persaud, “we are hoping that we could initiate the testing shortly.” “Everything is in place; however we are still awaiting those vital kits to commence the Chikungunya, Dengue and Zika testing. It is a triple kit; we have all the machines, trained personnel but we are awaiting the kits to be delivered,” the CMO said.
The kits have been procured by the Ministry, Dr. Persaud said, as he noted that “we hope all of that goes well and we get them very soon and then we can start our local testing.”
But prevention is still an important aspect of tackling the Zika Virus, Dr. Persaud underscored. He explained that personal action is still crucial, including preventing mosquito bites and removing the breeding sites around the home.
Added to this, Dr. Persaud said that the Ministry is still continuing fogging exercises.
“The (fogging) cycle has once again started on the East Bank and they are moving into south Georgetown and throughout the area…it will be like six-week cycles and we will continue to do that,” the CMO shared. Some of the outlying Regions, including Mabaruma, have also been conducting fogging exercises, he mentioned.
“Wherever we have cases we have initiated the fogging exercises,” said Dr. Persaud as he revealed that the Ministry has a plan in place whereby all of the positive cases are followed-up. He, however, divulged that “we have had some difficulty tracking a few of them. We are following up with them to ensure that first of all if they are women, they are not pregnant, and secondly screen all the contacts of that infected person.”
Conditions that have been linked to the Zika Virus are the Guillain-Barré syndrome which affects the nervous system, and microcephaly, which could cause a pregnant woman to deliver a baby with an unusually small head.
Thus far Guyana has diagnosed four pregnant women. One of the women, this publication understands, has since had a miscarriage and at least one has given birth to a normal baby, but continued efforts are being made to monitor both mother and child. Reports suggest that a third woman has since failed to avail herself for monitoring while the fourth pregnancy continues to be closely monitored.
But according to Dr. Persaud, while there are number of troubling conditions linked to the virus it is more often than not a relatively mild disease. This, he noted, is because many people can become infected and manifest mild to absolutely no sign or symptom.
The virus is transmitted by Aedes-type mosquitoes which also transmit Chikungunya and dengue. There is no cure for the virus, but treatment is made available for the symptoms manifested. Symptoms can include fever, rash, joint and/or muscle pains, headache and conjunctivitis (pink eye).

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