Cayman still Zika free as WHO raises alarm

| 28/01/2016 | 15 Comments
Cayman News Service

Aedes aegypti mosquito

(CNS): The rapid spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in the Caribbean and the Americas is alarming, according to World Health Organisation officials, who have warned that as many as four million people could contract the illness in the region this year. Local health officials told CNS Thursday that there are still no reported cases of the disease in the Cayman Islands but the Public Health Department is monitoring the situation very closely. Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr Samuel Williams said a formal update would be issued early next week.

There is no cure or vaccine for Zika but most people have the virus show no symptoms. However, the disease is suspected to be linked to serious birth defects in babies whose mothers who are infected when they are pregnant. While this link has not been proven, the massive increase in cases of microcephaly in babies where the virus is prevalent has led to scientists to believe there is a direct link.

Health officials said 23 countries and territories are now affected, including the United States, which has reported travel-related cases — a concern for the Cayman Islands as well. Given the transient nature of the resident population and the fact that the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads this and other diseases, is common in the Cayman, it will be increasingly difficult to keep the virus out.

While Brazil is described as the epicentre of the outbreak, the virus has now reached Haiti and Honduras. WHO officials have stated that the virus is expected to reach the same areas where dengue fever exists.

While the Aedes aegypti in the Cayman Islands are not endemic carriers of dengue, they were responsible for transmitting a number of local cases over the last two years once the virus arrived in infected travellers.

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Category: Health, Medical Health

Comments (15)

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  1. How Mosquito’s are reared in the Lab as opposed to how mosquito’s live & feed in the wild is massively different; in the lab male mosquito’s will feed on sugar water etc’ but in the wild they feed on many things dead carcuses’ dung’ flower nectar’ contaminated water such as latrines & open sewers etc’ These type of mosquito’s that live in these areas where sewage is discharged into the countryside’ carry lots of bacteria’s that they are immune against including Wolbachia; but Lab scientist’s have used streptomycin to force Wolbachia into Aedes Agypti Mosquito’s and also used streptomycin in order to rear gentically altered Mosquito’s by doing this scientist have inadvertently caused incorrect gene tranfer into sperm receptors’ which causes alteration in natal fetus neurons causing Microcephaly’& Guillain Barre etc;

  2. Anonymous says:

    Get some Off spray

  3. Mosquitoes says:

    Now the government should pay the stuff at the MRCU the back pay since 2011 that they worked very hard for let’s see if it happens now that the Country needs them again.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Nothing that Cayman can do to stop Zika coming in.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Don’t worry we can be quarantined in that expensive isolation tent commissioned for the Ebola virus.

    • Driftwood Tent Salesman says:

      Not true, we are going to need a new one specific to the Zika Virus. Happy to provide a quote.

  6. SSM345 says:

    The genetically modified mosquito’s they have released in Cayman by the millions are the same mosquito’s causing these ZIKA outbreaks in other parts of the world where they have done the same thing. Mother Nature coming back to bite us in the ass.

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