Barbados -2016 Zika

[Gert van der Hoek]

Zika threat

Eight suspected cases of new virus reported

January 9, 2016.

Barbados has stepped up its border surveillance and monitoring systems as the country records eight suspected cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

However, health officials have assured residents there was no need to be unduly worried because this virus was not a major threat and was not as severe as Dengue or Chikungunya.

Nevertheless, they cautioned that more vulnerable persons such as young children, the elderly and those already suffering from chronic illnesses were at higher risk.

Minister of Health John Boyce told a news briefing this morning at his Culloden Road, St Michael office that samples of the suspected cases have been sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Trinidad for confirmation.

“The Environmental Health Department will continue to conduct mosquito surveillance, prevention and control activities such as house-to-house inspections, surveillance at ports-of-entry and fogging in high-risk areas,” he added.
Boyce disclosed that the ministry would also continue its epidemiological surveillance to collect and analyze data from various sources, including private and public-sector facilities, in order to source information for planning and response.

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

[h=1]Zika?s here[/h] First cases of the mosquito-borne virus confirmed

January 16, 2016.
Barbados has recorded its first cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus.
A release from the Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS) late today quoted the Ministry of Health as confirming three cases of the disease, which is spread by the Aedes mosquito that also transmits Dengue and Chikungunya.

?. . . of the eight samples sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for testing, three were positive and five negative for the virus,? the release stated.

It did not say when the virus was contracted or how it reached Barbados, but Minister of Health John Boyce announced last week that samples had been sent to CARPHA for confirmatory testing. This means the three cases have likely been healed since the symptoms last between two and seven days.

 

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/88732/dengue-fever-rise

Cases of dengue fever on the rise
BGIS,
Added 03 November 2016

...The Ministry also revealed statistics related to the Zika virus, which showed that up to October 8, there were 625 suspected and 30 confirmed cases. Three of these confirmed cases occurred last year and 27 this year.

The total number of pregnant women infected now stands at 23. There have also been two suspected cases of Zika associated congenital syndrome identified so far this year, and four cases of Guillain Barre Syndrome.

The Ministry continues to work closely with the Caribbean Public Health Agency on laboratory confirmation of Zika cases...