Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton
The Ministry of Health says Jamaica now has 16 confirmed cases of the Zika virus. However, Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton said the number of possible Zika cases far exceeds the confirmed cases.
Speaking at a press conference, Thursday morning, at the Ministry's New Kingston's office, Dr. Tufton said that 1,969 notifications have been reported to the Ministry as of May 29. Of that number, there have been 1,387 notifications classified as suspected Zika cases.
Meanwhile, the Health Minister revealed that two pregnant women are listed among the 16 confirmed cases of the virus.
He said the ministry would be doing continuous monitoring of the pregnant women, and warned that increased cases of the Zika virus might well be seen after September, when the nine month period of their pregnancy cycle would expire.
"In the other case, where we tested and it was negative, we have reason to believe that there (are) no linkages because that person would have conceived sometime last years and had that child nine months after. But we believe that come September and beyond, the risk of seeing some of those cases will increase," he declared.
The Zika virus is reported to be of particular danger to pregnant women as it is linked to cases of microcephaly.
This is a condition in which an infant's head is smaller than the head of other children of the same age and sex.
The Health Minister has indicated that, so far, there have been no confirmed cases of microcephaly or Guillain Barre Syndrome associated with the Zika virus.
New system for reporting Zika
In the meantime, the Ministry of Health says it has recognised that the current process of reporting suspected cases of the Zika virus, through public and private health facilities, is not working.
Permanent Secretary Dr. Kevin Harvey says it is a manual process that requires a physician filling out a form which is sent to the Ministry or a health department.
The Clarendon Parish Council recently complained about an increase in cases.
Speaking at the press conference to update the country on the virus Thursday morning, Dr. Harvey says a new system will be rolled out soon.
"We have recognised that (the current system) presents a challenge because many persons are not taking the time to do that and we have created a web-based form where you can go online and hopefully we'll be able to roll this out within another couple of weeks," he said.
"We have a consultant on board, who is designing the interface, but as you can imagine, the securities around that notification have to be very tight online, hence, we are trying to put that in place so it makes it easier for you to do your reporting," he continued.
He encouraged physicians to report suspected cases of the Zika Virus.
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