THERE has been no additional case of the Zika virus in Guyana, as has been confirmed by additional samples taken, but the Public Health Ministry is now concerned that the mosquito-borne virus is being linked to some rare but serious cases of the Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which causes paralysis.Late last year, 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.

Even as thousands of babies in Brazil continue to be born with this defect, health authorities there are now battling with hundreds of cases of paralysis, which is reportedly linked to the Zika virus. After contracting the Zika virus, persons have allegedly been paralysed for weeks.

Guyana’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud, told reporters on Monday that the Public Health Ministry is now investigating all aspects of this virus, given the concerns raised in neighbouring Brazil and Suriname.

“In addition to this developmental abnormality that women who are in their early stages of pregnancy (and) contract Zika virus experience, there is this other neurological problem where, following a brief Zika infection, they develop this paralysis,” the CMO explained.
He said the Public Health Ministry has in place a strong surveillance system to monitor the situation.

Since the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) confirmed the first case of Zika virus in Guyana, on January 12, three lots of additional samples have been taken. The first two lots have already been sent to CARPHA to be tested. Even as it awaits the results, the Public Health Ministry has intensified its sensitisation programme.

In its quest to help pregnant women protect themselves from being bitten by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, the Public Health Ministry has commenced distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets across Guyana.

The Zika virus can cause significant illnesses in severe cases. In some cases, co-infection of Zika and dengue can occur, and may lead to autoimmune diseases, where the immune system turns on itself and starts destroying different cells, leading to possible nerve and bleeding disorders.

However, most persons affected with Zika will have only a mild course of illness, with symptoms similar to dengue, and will recover in a few days.

Guyana has been added to the list of Caribbean countries contained in the travel advisory issued by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week, in which pregnant women are asked to avoid visiting those countries because of the presence of the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

The other countries listed in that advisory are Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico.

By Svetlana Marshall