By Svetlana Marshall

CARICOM, UNICEF and Brazil have offered Guyana support in the fight to prevent the spread of the Zika virus here.

That support was offered on Tuesday when the ministers and other officials from the Ministries of Public Health and Foreign Affairs met with regional and international stakeholders to discuss collaborative efforts to stave off the Zika virus.

Among those present were UNICEF Representative to Guyana and Suriname, Marianne Flach; Director General of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Audrey Jardine-Waddell; Deputy Head of Mission of the Brazilian Embassy, Sabinie Popoff; and Programme Manager of Health Sector Development at CARICOM, Dr Rudolph Cummings.

The meeting was held one day after WHO declared the Zika virus a public health emergency of international concern.

The regional and international representatives gave assurances of their support to Guyana, which has to date recorded only one case of the Zika virus.

Public Health Minister Dr George Norton has stressed the importance of all relevant stakeholders being involved in addressing the public health concern. The Public Health Ministry, through the Vector Control Services Department, currently has a schedule of fogging exercises for eight of Guyana’s 10 administrative regions, with the remaining two regions to be added soon. House-to-house activities and the distribution of mosquito nets continue.

Director of Vector Control Services, Dr Horace Cox, has said that there will very soon be intensified surveillance at ports of entry, and public education materials will be distributed.

He stressed the importance of community participation, and urged persons to prevent themselves from being bitten by mosquitoes and to eliminate possible breeding sites of mosquitoes. The Zika virus is transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti and Aedes Polynesiensis mosquitoes. The Ministry of Public Health is urging persons to wear light coloured clothing which cover their bodies, arms and legs; apply insect repellent to exposed parts of their bodies, and use household insecticide sprays, coils and candles to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.

Additionally, all efforts should be made to control possible breeding sites around the home, such as open black tanks, tires, plant containers, and other vessels which harbour fresh water.

The Zika virus is considered a self-limiting disease, with symptoms lasting from four to seven days. It appears as a very moderate disease, with fever, headache, joint and muscle pain, rash, and sometimes swelling of the limbs. Some persons may also experience vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain.

Pregnant women especially are advised to sleep under a mosquito net, since the Zika virus causes some abnormalities in developing foetuses.