GUYANA along with several other Caribbean countries have been added to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) travel advisory, asking pregnant women to avoid visiting because of the presence of the mosquito-borne Zika virus.Zika is a mosquito-borne virus which is rapidly spreading throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. According to Reuters on Friday, this warning applies to Barbados, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Guyana,the Cape Verde islands, Samoa and the island of Saint Martin, bringing the list to 14 countries and territories.
The CDC issued an advisory last week against travel to Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico. The agency has cautioned pregnant women not to travel to these areas, as it is suspected that the Zika virus causes birth defects.
Last week, Minister of Public Health Dr George Norton, had reported to the National Assembly that Guyana had found one confirmed case of the Zika virus.
The Zika virus is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is also known to carry the dengue, yellow fever and Chikungunya viruses.
Health experts are unsure why the virus – detected in Africa in 1947, but unknown in the Americas until last year – is spreading so rapidly in Brazil and neighbouring countries.
There has been no additional case of the Zika virus reported in Guyana, even as the Public Health Ministry continues to monitor for emerging cases in the Caribbean.
Fully prepared
Speaking to the Government Information Agency (GINA), Dr Norton pointed out that while one case of the virus was reported in Guyana, the country was fully prepared to battle the vector-borne disease.
The minister stressed that if there was need for international bodies, it was for them to “evaluate the system here and point to what more is needed for further strengthening…but we are prepared.”
He noted that the ministry has “dealt with the mosquito before…it came with other diseases and it’s the same procedure.”
In the meantime, the ministry is fogging the city to kill the adult mosquitoes which carry the Zika virus.
Minister Norton has encouraged citizens to keep their surroundings clean, primarily drains. He said, “I’m worried about the weeds, even if it requires the usage of pesticides, we should get it out.”