BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – NEWS reaching SKNVibes states that the Zika virus, also referred to as ZIKV, has reached the Caribbean region with one individual becoming the first victim of the mosquito-borne virus.
According to the Curaçao Chronicle, the first reported case to have reached the Caribbean is a 12-year-old girl from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
She is currently warded in a private medical facility in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean country.
This development comes one month after a number of cases were reported in Brazil, which prompted the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) to issue a warning about the virus potential to spread to other countries.
A few days ago, the Federal Minister of Health had issued a press release asking citizens and resident of St. Kitts and Nevis to note that the Ministries of Health on both islands was continuing their monitoring of reports of the Zika virus and another one called MERS.
The Minister declared that there was no need for alarm or panic, because there were no known cases in the twin-island Federation.
“Response measures are in place. They are being updated and strengthened in conjunction with the OECS Commission, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), and the World Health Organisation (WHO),” the release said.
The release explained that the first human cases of the Zika virus occurred in Uganda and Tanzania in 1952, and that between 2007 and 2014 outbreaks and sporadic cases were reported in Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and several nations in the Pacific. However, in February 2014 Chile confirmed the first case in the West Hemisphere and the virus has now spread to Brazil.
It also explained that ZIKAV is an arbovirus transmitted by the bite of Aedes Egypti mosquito, the same mosquito that transmits Dengue and Chikungunya.
“The mosquito,” it added, “breeds in pots, pans, cans, bottles, tyres and in any other receptacle that holds water. Affected persons tend to have mild to moderate symptoms such as fever, pain leg swelling and reddish eyes for 4-7 days.”
The Health authority however warned that there is no vaccine and no medication cure the virus, but citizens should not be alarmed because no deaths have been reported.
The Ministry promised that further public health guidance on ZIKAV and MERS-CoV infections would be issued in subsequent announcements, and that factual information might be found on the websites of CARPHA, PAHO/WHO, and the public health authorities of the United States of America (USA), Canada, and the United Kingdom (UK).
