A 27-year-old woman is the first to contract the Zika virus in Guyana, Public Health Minister Dr George Norton disclosed yesterday while addressing the National Assembly.Dr Norton reported that the presence of the virus was confirmed by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Trinidad and Tobago. The agency detected the virus in a sample of blood sent from Guyana to the agency and the Ministry of Public Health was informed about the detection on January 12.

According to the World Health Organisation, “Zika fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by Zika virus (ZIKV), consisting of mild fever, rash (mostly maculo-papular), headaches, arthralgia, myalgia, asthenia, and non-purulent conjunctivitis, occurring about three to 12 days after the mosquito vector bites.”
It was explained that one out of four persons may not develop symptoms, but the affected often experience mild symptoms that can last between two and seven days. Its clinical manifestation is often similar to dengue, also a mosquito-borne illness.
It was disclosed that the 27-year-old woman who contracted the virus resides at Rose Hall, Corentyne and also at Covent Garden on the East Bank of Demerara, Region 4.
Based on reports reaching the Guyana Chronicle, the sample was taken on January 4 and was initially tested for ,but the result was negative. At CARPHA, it was tested for both chikungunya and the Zika virus but came back positive for the presence of the Zika virus. The test was conducted on January 12, 2016.
Upon learning of the presence of the virus in Guyana, the patient was located at her East Bank address on January 13, 2016 and was subsequently visited by an epidemiology nurse the following day. During the visit, the nurse ascertained the condition and status of the patient and other family members.
Additionally, vector control measures were recommended to the local authorities in both areas and fogging subsequently commenced.
FOGGING
The fogging exercise continues according to schedule on the East Bank of Demerara with household inspections, education and larvicidal treatment being provided.
Though the symptoms appear minute, the Zika virus can result in life-threatening defects. Late November,the BBC reported that in Brazil, the Zika fever was linked to a spike in cases of micro-encephalitis – an inflammation of the brain contracted in the first months of pregnancy.
The Brazilian Health Ministry had said that doctors found the Zika virus in the blood and tissue of a baby with micro-encephalitis in the north-eastern state of Ceara. This disease can stunt the growth of the foetus’s head.
With this in mind, Minister Norton had told the Guyana Chronicle that he was concerned that the virus can result in the development of micro-encephalitis.
“It is important for pregnant mothers to protect themselves from mosquitoes that spread the Zika virus,” Minister Norton had said. The virus is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito which are also carriers of the yellow fever, dengue and chikungunya viruses.
In its quest to help pregnant women protect themselves from being bitten by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the Health Ministry has commenced the distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets along the coastlands of Guyana.
INSECTICIDE-TREATED BED NETS
According to Dr Norton, his ministry has recently taken a decision to distribute the insecticide-treated bed nets at health centres across Guyana. “So when pregnant women attend their regular clinics, they will be given the treated mosquito nets, so they can use within their homes,” the Health Minister explained.
Although not as deadly as chik-V, ZIKV can cause significant illnesses in severe cases. In some cases, co-infection, ZIKV and dengue can occur in some patients. It may lead to auto-immune diseases, whereby the immune system turns on itself and starts destroying different cells leading to possible nerve disorders and bleeding disorders.
However, most persons affected with ZIKV will have only a mild course with symptoms similar to dengue, and will recover in a few days.
According to the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, there is no vaccine or specific treatment for the Zika virus infection. It was explained that treatment is mainly symptomatic and supportive, including rest and the use of acetaminophen and paracetamol to relieve fever and pain. Antihistamines can be used to control itching.
“Using aspirin is not advised due to risk of bleeding and developing Reye’s syndrome in children under 12 years. Patients are advised to drink plenty of fluids to replenish loss from sweating, vomiting, and diarrhoea,” he explained.
The Zika virus was first isolated in 1947 in Zika Forest, Uganda, in a Rhesus monkey during the transmission of wild yellow fever. The virus was first isolated in humans in 1952 in Uganda and Tanzania. In 1968 the virus was detected in human samples in Nigeria.
In 2007, the first major outbreak of Zika virus fever occurred on the island of Yap, Micronesia, where 185 suspected cases were reported. In October 2013, approximately 10,000 cases were registered in an outbreak in French Polynesia. Brazil confirmed its first case of ZIKV in May 2015.
Recent outbreaks of the Zika virus in different regions of the world demonstrate the potential of the spread and outbreak of this arbovirus in regions where the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are present.

By Svetlana Marshall