Zika confirmed in the Caribbean
The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has confirmed at least five cases of infection with the mosquito borne virus, Zika virus, in the region of the Caribbean, although they did not specify which countries or territories the virus was found.
Image/CIA
However, it has already been confirmed that at least two locally acquired cases were seen in Suriname, one of CARPHA’s Member states.
This is the first time Zika has been detected in a territory of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Executive Director, CARPHA, Dr. C. James Hospedales emphasized that prevention and control are fundamental in order to prevent transmission of the virus. He said “The best way to protect yourself from this disease is to avoid mosquito bites and to prevent mosquitoes breeding in and around your home environment.”
Zika is a viral disease, transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is also the insect vector for Dengue and Chikungunya. The symptoms are also very similar to these diseases and include fever, muscle and joint pain, headache, nausea, and rash. There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika and symptoms last approximately four to seven days. Complications are rare and no deaths due to Zika have ever been recorded.
The CARPHA Member states include Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bermuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Curacao, Dominica, Granada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Martin, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos and the British Virgin Islands.
Robert Herriman is a microbiologist and the Editor-in-Chief of Outbreak News Today and the Executive Editor of The Global Dispatch
Follow @bactiman63
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