The Ministry of Health has activated its national plan to keep Belize Zika free. Today Health Professionals held a sensitization meeting at the Inspiration Center to discuss the possible threats of Zika. On Monday, The World Health Organization declared an international public health emergency after an outbreak of the virus has been confirmed in 26 countries of the America's - but Belize is not one of them. Still, it's all around us, in Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala.
And so, although, Belize presently has no confirmed cases of Zika, three samples have been sent for testing, and Director of Health Services Dr. Marvin Manzanero told the media today that they have initiated their response plan and have engaged all health regions across the country.
Of course, ZIKA is spread by mosquitoes and a major component of any response has to be vector control. Chief of Operations in the Vector Control Program also highlighted key geographical areas of concern in Belize.
Dr. Marvin Manzanero, Dir. of Health Services
"So in essence what we did was we've revisited the plan, we've completed the plan. That is now going to be shared electronically with all the health regions and each health region will now have to do duplication of that training or sensitization session at their local level and I know Dr. Manzanero's epidemiology and surveillance team will start visiting the different regions as from tomorrow. In terms of getting the surveillance committees activated, we have started sending samples to CARPHA. We have so far sent 3 samples to Trinidad and Tobago. We have gotten one result back and that result was negative for dengue, chikungunya, zika. We still have no confirmed cases in Belize."
Kim Bautista, Chief Ops. Vector Control Program
"We are basically highlighting in the national preparedness response and preparedness plan for them to go back and look at their data. They already know the little hotspots within their district for example, if you look at the Cayo District, you might be able to single out certain areas within Santa Elena or maybe Las Flores, Salvapan, San Martin, Maya Mopan, St. Matthews, Camalote and even within Belize City, within certain areas within the Southside. So areas within San Pedro for example, San Mateo, San Juan and these areas. So countrywide I believe that the public health department knows the areas that are at risk and so what we have been trying to do is for them to work with the local 
municipalities and stakeholders to not only disseminate health information messages and how to prevent the mosquito bites, but to start actively organizing themselves in terms of cleanup campaigns."
As it relates to the 3 samples - the first sample that came back negative for Zika is from a person who had traveled to Honduras, the second was from one who lived in an area where there are frequent travelers to Central America and the last sample came from a pregnant woman. The results of the 2 remaining samples should be in by Friday. Now, let's be clear on what Zika is. It's a virus spread principally through mosquito bites. The most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain, and pink eye. The symptoms are usually mild, and can last from a few days to a week. The greatest threat is to pregnant women because Zika has caused birth defects in Brazil.
Email
Print