GOVERNMENT has begun stepping up its fight to keep out the Zika Virus here and will soon launch a robust public relations campaign as well as other public health initiatives to safeguard citizens from the virus, Minister within the Ministry of Public Health Dr Karen Cummings has said. Guyana has only detected so far one case and the detection of Zika Virus in a sample of blood sent to Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) Laboratory in Trinidad & Tobago. Since then the Ministry of Public Health has been alert mode to ensure that this topical public health concern is kept at a minimum, and not contribute to any adverse economic and social burden, Cummings added in a statement.
Last week, Country Representative of the Pan American Health Organisation, Dr William Adu told this newspaper that there is no need for alarm, but stressed the need for more focus to be placed on staving off the spread of the virus here. “I must say that so far we have had about three batches of tests sent to Trinidad. 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.”
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All forms of media
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DR. CUMMINGS said the ministry will step up its public education campaign with the use of all forms of traditional and new media technologies which include the production of audio/audio-visual materials for radio and television. The productions will take the form of jingles, advertisements, infomercials, and public awareness messages, Cummings said, noting that social media will also be utilised particularly Facebook and WhatsApp to get short compelling messages to large numbers of people. The ministry will also use text message blasts; flyers, posters, and brochures will also be created and distributed. Additionally, he said Pro-Bono television and radio interview programmes will be employed, as well as feature articles in the daily and weekend newspapers. ”In areas where access to mainstream media is minimal to non-existent, loud hailers will be used to get messages to the people of those communities. To continue with scheduled fogging exercises in all ten administrative regions of Guyana. To continue with the distribution of treated nets to the members of the public across Guyana, with particular focus on the pregnant women, to help in protecting them against the mosquito bite.” The minister said too that within the next two weeks, the spraying of different infrastructure with insecticides to assist in controlling the vector. The ministry will also soon introduce the In2Care mosquito trap as a pilot project at selected health facilities and ministries across Georgetown during the next few weeks.
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Global resurgence
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THERE has been a global resurgence and re-emergence of the Zika virus which was isolated in 1947 in the Zika Forest, Uganda in a Rhesus Monkey during the transmission of wild yellow fever. However, five years later the virus was isolated from humans in Uganda and Tanzania. Unfortunately, there have been major outbreaks of the Zika virus in the neighbouring countries, namely Brazil and Suriname. The insects responsible for this virus have been the Aedes Aegypti and Aedes Polyneiensis mosquitoes, which incidentally are also responsible for Chikungunya and Dengue.
The incubation period (the period of exposure to the revelation of symptoms) is approximately three to twelve days. The common symptoms include a low grade fever (37.80 C), headache, joint pain, muscle pain, red eye, rash, swelling of the limbs. In addition there are the regular symptoms like vomiting, diarrhoea, and abdominal pain. It has been reported that this neurotropic virus could affect the brain, and lead to congenital microcephaly (which means that the children are born with small heads and can have severe learning difficulties) especially among the Zika infected pregnant women in the first and early second trimester, according to the epidemiological data in Brazil. Reports coming out of Brazil have indicated that close to 4,000 babies were born with small brains since May 2015 on isolating the Zika virus from the amniotic fluid of two women, and one infant’s brain and heart tissue. In addition, there could be seen flaccid paralysis in some cases, and the Guillian Barre Syndrome. The mode of transmission has been from mother to child and vertical transmission, though rare instances will include blood transfusion and organ transplant. The Zika virus has also recently been isolated in human semen and may be sexually transmitted.

Port health
Meanwhile, Dr Cummings said in addition to some of the measures outlined above her ministry will also sensitize relevant officers at the ports of health, in addition to strengthening the surveillance system at the said ports of entry to facilitate more public health promotion. She said the Health Promotion and Communication Unit at the Ministry of Public Health will be strengthened even as the ministry engages and work with stakeholders including PAHO, UNICEF, the Ministries of Telecommunication, Citizenship, and Foreign Affairs. The ministry will also collaborate with representatives from CARICOM and CARICOM States, and Brazil.

Regarding preventative measures, Dr Cummings urged citizens to avoid travelling to areas where mosquito and destroy areas where mosquitoes breed; keep the surroundings clean, get rid of water in used tires, stagnant water, and standing water in outdoor containers like flower pots. “As the Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, despite the probable economic and tourism threat, I will ensure that the health team and the policy leaders put measures in place to beat the virus, and by extension work towards removing our country’s name from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) List for the Zika virus. We will make every effort to control and eventually rid ourselves of this scourge,” Dr Cummings assured.