AS the Ministry of Public Health moves to improve the services offered to Guyanese, a new feature has recently been added to the reference laboratory, which allows persons to be tested for the Zika virus.
Speaking at the ministry’s end-of-year press conference, Former Minister of Public Health, Dr George Norton, said that “the lab [is] in a position to carry out testing for the Zika virus, which commenced some over two weeks ago.”

With the number of recorded cases of Zika being 35 at the end of 2015, the ministry hopes to reduce that number this year and ensure that persons who show symptoms of the virus are tested as soon as possible. Testing for the virus will be done by locals who were sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for training.
“They were sent to train and we received the equipment for testing, but we had to calibrate those equipment and we waited on the experts to come down and have those equipment calibrated. Then we went into some difficulties of getting the reagents. Finally, [we] were able to have the equipment calibrated and acquire the reagents,” said Dr Norton.
In the past, the laboratory did not have the capacity to carry out testing for Zika and other mosquito-related viruses; the samples were sent to CARPHA, after which Guyana had to wait over a week to receive the results.

Zika is a vector-borne disease transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito. Signs and symptoms of the illness include fever, headache, joint and muscle pain, rashes, and sometimes swelling of the limbs. Some persons may also experience vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. There has been no direct treatment developed for the illness, but patients are treated with basic pain- killers.
Precautionary measures such as the use of insect repellents, insecticide- treated nets, and wearing long-sleeved clothing are recommended. Household insecticidal sprays, coils, candles, screening of windows, doors and other openings can also aid in reducing mosquitoes in the home.