In just a few weeks, Belize has confirmed at least two cases of Zika, and very worryingly, the second case is a pregnant woman. Worrying because, if a pregnant woman is infected with the virus, there is a high possibility that her child will be born with microcephaly- a disease associated with incomplete brain development. Today we spoke to CEO Figueroa who gave us a status update on this particular case.
Dr. Ramon Figueroa, CEO, Ministry of Health
"As far as I remember it's not 100%. There's a very high prevalence of microcephaly as a result of Zika infections. There was initially the notion that is dependent on which trimester the person got infected but more of the data is revealing that all trimesters there is some neurological effect. It could be microcephaly, it could be other developmental issues. What has been proven is that there are certain parts of the brain that the Zika virus tend to have a predilection for affection. It might be minor developmental issues, might be major, so that's what we need to monitor. I know the maternal and child health personnel are monitoring the case. We will be following the Pan American health organization guidelines in terms of doing the ultrasounds to monitor and looking forward to the delivery and following up the child when it is born. There's nothing really you can do except monitor and provide the kind of support and hopefully we don't have major complications at delivery or with the child."
The woman, a resident of Cotton Tree Village in the Cayo district, is a little over 33 weeks pregnant, and according to CEO Figueroa, she is being monitored closely.
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