Why Haiti and Guyana Zika Virus cases means Jamaica will get Zika Virus by Valentine's Day

  

“The Zika Virus isn’t a cause to go crazy. The diagnosis is for monitoring. The main thing here is to control the vectors (mosquitoes). The Virus shouldn’t cause alarm among the population”

PAHO Communicable Disease and Health Analysis director Marcos Espinal commenting on the confirmation of the Zika Virus in Haiti

Every week, the Zika Virus seems to be getting closer and closer, like the Ninja Cat.

Now it's been confirmed that the first case of the Zika Virus is in Haiti as reported in the article, “Dominican official says first Zika Virus case confirmed in Haiti”, published 14 January 2016, Dominica Today. 

 

PAHO Communicable Disease and Health Analysis director Marcos Espinal who made this declaration during a conference at the Hotel Sheraton in Haiti, declare the Zika Virus as deadly as the Dengue fever and should be treated as such. He also recommend a focus on prevention and education, trash collection and control the Aedes aegypti Vector to reduce the impacts the Zika Virus will have on Haiti's population.

Haiti comes as a surprise given the fact that one of the first cases in the Caribbean was reported in the Dominican Republic in June 2015 as reported in my blog article entitled “Zika Virus in Caribbean as Dominica Republic Girl infected - Why Zika Virus will reach Jamaica and How to prepare using Citronella Soap and Vitamin C”.

What is surprising is that Haiti shares a border with the Dominica Republic and it took this long for the Zika Virus to spread across the border. This is either an indication of the extensiveness of the drought situation in Haiti or the strict border control that exists between the two countries.

Zika Virus in Guyana - Caribbean home for the Zika Virus as Jamaica is next

Guyana has also stated that Zika Virus is in their country, as confirmed by the Minister of Public Health Dr George Norton on Thursday January 14^th 2016 as he addressed the National Assembly in Guyana as reported in the article “Zika Virus detected in Guyana”, published Thursday, January 14, 2016, The Jamaica Observer.

 

The Zika Virus was detected in the blood sample of a 27-y-o girl adding Guyana to the list of 15 countries that have local transmission of the Zika Virus:

1.      Brazil

2.      Colombia

3.      El Salvador

4.      French Guiana

5.      Guyana

6.      Guatemala

7.      Haiti

8.      Honduras

9.      Martinique

10.  Mexico

11.  Panama

12.  Puerto Rico

13.  Paraguay

14.  Suriname

15.  Venezuela

In the first week of January 2016, the island of Dominica was suspected to have the Zika Virus, being as they're so close to Martinique as noted in my blog article entitled “Why the US of A must fear Zika Virus as Dominica and Jamaica next by February 2016”.

The Zika Virus has also been reported in Puerto Rico, so the Americans are definitely going to have an outbreak of the Zika Virus. A few days later Barbados went on high alert as eight (8) Bajans are said to be infected by the Zika Virus as reported in my blog article entitled “Why 8 Barbadians possibly with Zika Virus and 66 dead from H1N1 means Jamaica by February 2016”. 

 

Jamaicans must now be on high alert for the Zika Virus being as many Haitian nationals travel to and from Haiti illegally, often landing on the South Coast in Clarendon at Rocky Point or in St. Thomas. 

The symptoms for the Zika Virus take four (4) to seven (7) days after the initial infection and last for up to four (4) weeks or longer:

1.      Conjunctivitis

2.      Fever

3.      Headache 

4.      Joint and muscle pain

5.      Rash

6.      Swelling of the lower limbs

7.      Weakness

But there is more to this milder cousin of the Chikungunya Virus than meets the eye!

Zika Virus and microcephaly - Babies vulnerable to this birth defect

The following set of people within the Caribbean are especially vulnerable to the Zika Virus:

1.      Babies

2.      Children suffering from an illness

3.      Elderly persons with other health problems

There is now a suggested link between microcephaly and the Zika Virus, now spreading in epidemic proportions in Brazil as reported in my blog article entitled “Ministry of Health's 1000 Health volunteers for Zika Virus as 1,200 babies in Brazil with microcephaly”.

Jamaica's Ministry of Health has already begun to respond to the Zika Virus, mobilizing 1000 Health volunteers to alert Jamaicans of the importance of reducing the breeding grounds for the Zika Virus.

However, this seems to be a political ploy to win the General Elections as pointed out in my blog article entitled “Why Zika Virus in Martinique means 2016 the Year of Zika Virus in Jamaica”, so expect that General Elections are near, as soon as the Zika Virus blows over.

As PAHO Communicable Disease and Health Analysis Director Marcos Espinal pointed out, reducing the breeding places for the Aedes Aegypti mosquito is important in curtailing the spread of the Zika Virus as show in the CARPHA Yard Poster below.

 

You can reduce the chances of being bitten by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito by taking the following precautions:

1.      Wearing long-sleeved clothing or long pants

2.      Using DEET insect repellents

3.      Sleeping under mosquito nets

Finally taking Vitamin C and B12 vitamins will also help, which I currently doing, as Vitamin C helps to boost the immune system against infection as explained in my blog article entitled “Vitamin C and the Chikungunya Virus - How to increase your Vitamin C Intake, Glutathione and Interferon by White Blood Cells”. 

Jamaica, brace for impact as St. Valentine's Day will probably see you on your back suffering from the Zika Virus.