THERE is no need for alarm, said PAHO/WHO Country Representative, Dr William Adu-,but he stressed the need for more focus to be placed on staving off the spread of the Zika virus here.“I must say that so far we have had about three batches of tests sent to Trinidad. That is [to the] Caribbean Public Health Agency Lab (CARPHA) and so far of the batches sent only one case is positive. I think in Guyana what we need is to try to prevent ourselves from being bitten by mosquitoes.”
This, Dr Adu-Krow said, should not be limited to the Zika virus, as persons can still contract malaria from mosquitoes.
“If we are able to prevent ourselves from being bitten by the mosquitoes for the ordinary malaria, we can also prevent Zika.”
He explained that persons desirous of visiting Guyana need not be fearful, as there is no threat to their health.
“For those coming in May, they have nothing to fear. One case out of the many samples we have sent and continue to send to Trinidad. Just one case, is nothing to be worried about.”
The Zika virus was identified in Brazil in May 2015 and thus far 24 countries have reported cases of the virus.
“Are we going to say that we are not going to visit any of the 24 countries? Out of the 30 something countries we have in our Region, the answer is ‘no’.”
The PAHO/WHO Country Representative said Guyana is one of the countries in the South American Region that has the least problems relative to Zika, and “Persons should feel free to come.”
He noted, however, that if pregnant women experience mild fever, rashes and muscle pain, they should seek urgent medical attention as the Zika virus should not be taken lightly.
“The children are born with small heads and there is another condition… whereby the immune system begins to attack the nervous system and then it leads to paralysis,” Dr Adu-Krow told the Guyana Chronicle at his PAHO/WHO office.
It is recommended that pregnant women take personal precautions to avoid contact with mosquitoes.
That aside, he said there is nothing to worry about. Asked whether persons residing in hinterland locations that border Brazil and Suriname ought to be worried about the virus, Dr. Adu-Krow said, “We have this adage that the mosquito doesn’t need a visa to cross the border, they can just fly over or even the wind can just blow them. They can come across from Brazil or Suriname.”
He said the same measures employed to prevent dengue or malaria must be adopted to prevent Zika.
TAKE PRECAUTION
“Let’s make sure we have long-sleeved jerseys, let’s make sure we don’t travel to an endemic region if we don’t need to… if there is an emergency, yes, we have to travel.”
He advised that persons living close to the borders of Brazil and Suriname arm themselves with repellant.
If contracted, he said the first seven days are very crucial. The health expert explained that those infected need to “stay under a net, so that the mosquitoes cannot bite you and take your blood to another person. After that one week you cannot transmit anymore because it is not in the blood. It has moved from the blood phase.”
The PAHO/WHO representatives also urged citizens to visit the health centres or doctor to screen for dengue, malaria or Chikungunya.
“Unfortunately, Zika tests cannot be done in Guyana… if you have symptoms, take the blood and send it to Trinidad and wait for another week for results. If it turns out positive, we track all contacts of the person who tested positive so we can eliminate the risk… have them in a place where the mosquito cannot bite them and bite another person.”
However, there are challenges especially for those persons who reside in remote communities. Transporting the blood specimen from the health centres to Georgetown so it can be taken to Trinidad, is oftentimes a challenge as many of the nurses, though trained, are not too familiar with the “right way of packaging.”
“We have trained them but that is still an issue,” he told Guyana Chronicle.
TRAINING
On that note, Dr Adu-Krow issued a call to the Ministry of Public Health to recommend one person whom the PAHO/WHO office will send to be trained to do the Zika test here.
“We are prepared to train someone to do the same lab-testing here, so we don’t need to go all the way to Trinidad. This is a big country; we should be able to do that,” he remarked.
There is no cure for Zika and scientists are now trying to work towards an antidote. For the time, persons are being treated with panadol, a pain reliever and once experiencing rashes, a cream is used to relieve the itching and take away the rash.
“Unfortunately, the Zika virus has no treatment… what is given is panadol but even that… we cannot give very strong pain killers because if it turns out to be dengue… it gives you a false hope then you use your limbs and it cracks the joints some more. It is only panadol and something for the itch and eyes. Once that phase passes off… it does not lead to any of these bad outcomes.”
He urged all persons who experience these symptoms to keep themselves hydrated, and noted that the symptoms for the Zika virus are quite similar to that of malaria and should not be mistaken for malaria.
“They are almost the same, so you can’t tell the difference unless we do the test,” he added.
The index of suspicion, he urged, must be increased, noting that it can also be dengue or Chikungunya.
“Now, it can be Zika, though we only have one case. More often than not it is likely to be malaria than Zika.”
The Zika virus is transmitted to humans by infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, and among others causes symptoms including light fever, rash, conjunctivitis and muscle pain.

By Ariana Gordon