Tag: Zika virus
Oxitec packs up but evaluation not complete
(CNS): The controversial research project which saw genetically modified sterile male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes released into an area of West Bay in a collaboration between the Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU) and the bio-technology company Oxitec has come to a formal end. However, details of what happened, what went right or wrong, why the government went […]
HSA lab can now test for zika
(CNS): Mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue, zika and chikungunya, can now be identified much more quickly in the Cayman Islands. The Health Services Authority reports that its laboratory is now one of the three laboratories in the region that is internationally accredited with the full capabilities to test for viral diseases that may pose a […]
Cayman shakes free of Zika travel concerns
(CNS): There have been no locally transmitted cases of Zika virus in the Cayman Islands this year and just one imported case in early February, officials have said. The jurisdiction has now been removed from an advisory list warning travellers of the previous threat. Cayman was placed on the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention […]
GM project cuts mozzies by over 80%
(CNS): There has been a dramatic fall in the number of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in West Bay, where genetically modified bugs have been released in a pilot project to get as near as possible to eradicating the disease-spreading pest. Over the last six months the MRCU, in partnership with a private UK bio-technology firm, has […]
Officials confirm 20th local Zika case in GT
(CNS): A woman in George Town who tested positive for the Zika virus who has no relevant travel history became the twentieth person in Cayman to pick-up the mosquito-bourne virus this week. Public health officials confirmed that the total number of laboratory tested cases of Zika is now 30, which includes those who were infected […]
Second pregnant woman contracts Zika
(CNS): Just days after public health officials announced that there had not been any new confirmed local transmissions of the Zika virus for some two weeks, a new test result has revealed that a pregnant woman in George Town has now tested positive for the virus transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. The patient acquired […]
Local transmission of Zika holds steady
(CNS): Public health officials have confirmed that there have been no further confirmed cases of local transmission of the Zika virus over the last two weeks. In the most recent results that the local health authorities have received from the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Trinidad, only one blood sample tested positive and that was […]
Pregnant woman infected by Zika in GT
(CNS): A pregnant woman who lives in the Swamp area of George Town has been infected with the Zika virus, public health officials said. The first confirmed case of a pregnant woman contracting the mosquito-transmitted virus was revealed at a public information meeting in the capital Tuesday evening, when Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr Samuel […]
Zika cases still confined to GT, meetings set
(CNS): Public health officials have said there are now 12 confirmed cases of locally acquired Zika virus in Cayman. Three more positive tests results were received this week for people with no relevant travel history, all of whom live in George Town. There will be a series of public meetings starting next week to address concerns, especially for pregnant women. Since […]
Four more George Towners come down with Zika
(CNS): Another four women with no relevant travel history have been infected with Zika as a result of local transmission, public health officials have confirmed in the latest update regarding the spread of the virus in Cayman. Another female patient, also from George Town, who tested positive in the latest batch of test results received […]
GM mosquito offspring begin to appear in field test
(CNS): The release of hundreds of thousands of genetically modified male mosquitoes is beginning to make its mark on the population of the Aedes aegypti species in the district of West Bay, officials managing the project said after the genetic markers began showing up in insect larvae. Dr Renaud Lacroix, the manager of the Oxitec […]
