Zika virus outbreak in the Pacific update
The mosquito borne viral disease, Zika fever, is making it’s second appearance as an outbreak in the Pacific since 2007, with the virus being seen in significant numbers in French Polynesia and New Caledonia.
New Caledonia
Image/CIA
According to the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), since early October 2013, and as of 30 January 2013, 7,939 suspected cases of ZIKV infection were reported by the syndromic surveillance sentinel network of French Polynesia, of which 396 were confirmed by RT-PCR. It is estimated that more than 28,000 cases have sought medical care with Zika-like symptoms in French Polynesia since the beginning of the outbreak.
In New Caledonia, health authorities officially declared a ZIKV outbreak on 1 February 2014. Since 1 January and as of 2 February 2014, there are 44 confirmed ZIKV cases in the territory, 30 of which are imported and 14 are autochthonous cases.
New Caledonia has reported 16 dengue fever cases since the beginning of the year.
Since early November 2013, 70 cases presented with neurological or autoimmune complications of which 38 cases were with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Sixteen of these patients required hospitalization in the intensive care unit
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued travel notices for both French Overseas Territories in late January and early February.
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