MOH: Zika virus expected in Jamaica in a matter of weeks

Reports have surfaced of  an increased number of  mosquito breeding sites in Jamaica as the country braces for local cases of the Zika Virus. The Health Ministry says it has observed increased mosquito breeding in several communities islandwide. These areas are now considered high risk, with the aedes Aedes aegypti mosquito, commonly found in Jamaica, being the primary carrier of the Zica virus.

With a confirmed case of  Zika in Haiti, the Ministry has predicted that within weeks the virus will emerge in Jamaica, and has advised the country's women of child-bearing age to put off getting pregnant for at least six to 12 months. This is because of the link that has been established between the Zica virus and the occurrence of microcephaly, a disease that causes brain defects in unborn babies.

Dr. Sonia Copeland, Director of  Health Promotion and Protection in the Ministry, speaking on RJR's Beyond the Headlines, on Monday, said schools, town centres and markets are examples of  high risk areas needing immediate attention. She said the available the information suggests that the problem is on a national scale.

Pooling resources

With the expected spread of  the Zika virus to Jamaica, a proposal has been made for several State agencies to pool their resources to eradicate mosquito breeding sites. It's felt that, based on the anticipated impact of  the virus, a single agency should not be assigned the job of  handling the issue.       

Public Health Specialist Dr. Winston Davidson is urging that multiple agencies, along with community members, tackle mosquito breeding sites at this time.

Dr. Davidson, also speaking on Beyond the Headlines, argued that if  the breeding sources are reduced, the impact on the population will be reduced. 

Already pregnant

Meanwhile, despite the advisory to Jamaican women against getting pregnant for the next 6 to 12 months, there are thousands who are already pregnant, and therefore are at risk.
  
The advisory from the Ministry of Health on Monday came out of fear that unborn infants could be affected by complications arising from the Zika virus.
    
An average of 40,000 births occur in Jamaica each year, and therefore, according to Dr. Copeland, thousands of women are pregnant at any point during the year.
   
She said those women would face the risk of their babies being affected by microcephaly.

"Women who are pregnant now - we think there might be about 18 thousand of them or a little less - should we now have Zica virus confirmed in Jamaica, these women would be at risk, based on the very strong association (with microcephaly)," she explained.

The American Centres for Disease Control (CDC) recently announced  test results showing evidence of the link between the mosquito-borne virus and the rising number ofcases of microcephaly, a serious condition in which babies are born with undersized brains and skulls.  
In Brazil, there have been 46 infant deaths.
  
Officials believe pregnant women who are bitten by mosquitoes infected with Zika are transmitting it to their foetuses.  
  
CDC scientists found the Zika virus in the placentas of the foetuses, and in the brains of two full-term babies.