The study focused on mosquito-driven transmission.
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The Zika virus is typically transmitted via mosquitoes, and is especially risky during pregnancy because it can cause the birth defect microcephaly – where babies are born with a small head and underdeveloped brain. It thrives in warm climates.
Its cousin, the Aedes albopictus has also been linked to Zika. Worryingly for Americans in northern states, this species can survive in cooler temperatures.
Water containers and any items that can capture and store water such as buckets and coconut shells, he said, should be emptied and turn over to prevent breeding of the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
They are most active during mid-morning and then again between late afternoon and nightfall.
They concluded that while more studies were needed, that there appeared to be enough information that “congenital Zika syndrome should be added to the differential diagnosis of congenital infections and arthrogryposis”.
With Zika sparking anxiety at the Olympics in Brazil, and now local cases being transmitted in Florida, accurately tracking the spread of the virus is increasingly urgent.
The warning follows confirmation of local transmission of the virus on the island this week.
There are also reported cases of sexual transmission in France and Canada.
“World Health Organisation/PanAmerican Health Organisation (WHO/PAHO) guidelines recommend testing pregnant woman for Zika virus only if they are symptomatic; the Public Health Department is guided by these recommendations”, he said.
Through the placenta: During the first trimester, it can travel through the placenta by infecting numerous placental cells – something very few viruses can do.
We do not know if there is a “safe” period during pregnancy when a mother could be infected and the child not suffer birth defects.
Through the amniotic sac: In the second and third trimester, the virus can make its way through the amniotic sac.
During childbirth: Since the virus can live in the woman’s womb lining, there is a chance the baby can become infected when it is born.
“We are definitively receiving more patients from the hospital and the private sector to be assessed and investigated for Zika; some of these patients have no travel history to countries with ongoing Zika transmission”, he pointed out.
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It said that the Ministry of Health is advising women who are pregnant and experiencing any of the symptoms of Zika – fever, rash, conjunctivitis (red eye), headache and temporary arthritis, mainly in the small joints of the hands and feet, to contact their doctor as soon as possible for testing. The infection is similar to other infections for which there are vaccines, so that could help speed the development of a Zika vaccine. Additionally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned people traveling to Cayman to wear insect repellent and long-sleeved shirts and long trousers.
