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FM
Former Member

Guyana does not have a Zika Virus pandemic

January 30, 2016 | By | Filed Under News 

…no need for alarm—says Public Health Minister  
As the mosquito-borne Zika virus continues to sweep the Americas health officials in Guyana are refuting

Public Health Minister George Norton

Public Health Minister George Norton

the notion that the country is plagued with a pandemic. They promise to continue efforts to monitor the mosquito population.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) had listed Guyana as one of the countries within the Americas as having a Zika Virus pandemic. However, Public Health Minister George Norton, at a forum with other ministers, stated that the country should not be alarmed since there is no such pandemic.
The health organization’s affirmation was measured against a continental spread of the outbreak, he said.
Norton said that Trinidad and Tobago has not recorded a single case of the virus but was listed as one of the countries with the pandemic. So far, Guyana has recorded only one case of the virus.
Tourism Minister, Catherine Hughes, stated that there are a lot of conversations in the international media that Guyana— which is a neighbour to the hardest-hit country Brazil— is struggling with an outbreak.
She said that the Tourism Ministry is actively moving to address this assertion and is preparing a release to send out to the international media, embassies and high commissions to enlighten them about the condition of the virus in the country.
The virus, which is transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti, emerged in monkeys in the Zika forest in Uganda in late 1940s. It then spread across other parts of Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands. Its emergence in the Americas occurred last May in Brazil, which presently has reported nearly 4000 cases of a birth defect called microcephaly— that is strongly suspected to be linked to the virus. Microcephaly causes babies to be born with deficient brain development.
Zika is now present in 23 countries and territories in the Americas.
Norton stated that the virus causes mild fever, red eyes, skin rash and joint pains and that most people may not develop any signs or symptoms. He explained that the agent, which breeds around homes, bites throughout the day and into the night.
Thus, he advised that people wear light coloured clothing that cover the body, arms and legs and apply insect repellent to exposed parts of the body while using household insecticide sprays, coils and candles.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Shamdeo Persaud indicated that the Ministry has started fogging all ten Administrative Regions to control the mosquito population and are distributing treated nets to pregnant women in anti-natal clinics nationwide.
He said the vector control services are conducting house-to-house examinations and thus advised the public to cooperate. He stated that their aim is to protect pregnant women and children under the ages of five years old.
However, there is no treatment or vaccine for Zika. This, he said, would pose a problem since Guyana has never been exposed to a virus of this kind and therefore has not developed immunity against it.
Coupled with that concern, Guyana has an abundance of mosquitoes and thus more pregnant women, especially those in the early trimester of pregnancy are placed at a risk along with their unborn child.
Therefore, he stated that they were focused more on distributing the nets and educating the pregnant mothers about the possible danger and how to protect themselves. “We asked them (health centres) each to take a count of their pregnant patients and we would distribute that number to them,” he said, adding that they have distributed nets to both public and private clinics.
Kaieteur News visited a few of these health centres on the East Coast of Demerara, Georgetown and East Bank of Demerara, and most of them reported that they have not received any nets to give to their pregnant patients.
A source at the Campbellville Health Centre indicated that they were neither distributing nets nor receiving nets. The situation was the same at the Industry Health Centre. A source indicated that while they have seen reports in the media that nets were being distributed they have received none. The source added that they were never told to count their patients.
Meanwhile, the Plaisance Health Centre reported that they had distributed all of their nets to their patients and were actively working to educate them on the emergence of the virus in the country.
The first case of Zika was detected January 12, 2016 at a private hospital. The infected woman is still being monitored along with other persons who may have come into contact with her. Other suspected cases were also being monitored and samples of their blood were taken and sent to the Caribbean Pubic Health Agency in Trinidad and Tobago for testing.
On Thursday, Persaud said they received results from nine samples sent and none were positive for Zika. However, four samples were held back for further testing. He stated that if anyone begins to develop symptoms of Zika they should check their nearest healthcare provider immediately.
He said the Ministry was also requesting that vector control workers be allowed to enter premises and conduct inspection and treatment of mosquito breeding sites.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention has activated an emergency operations center to work around the clock to address the virus. Scientists are also working assiduously to develop a vaccine for the virus.
On Thursday, the WHO forecast that as many as four million people in the Americas may become infected by Zika. 

 

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Only one confirmed case of Zika virus in Guyana

– monitoring, spraying ongoing

 
 

So far, there has only been one case of the Zika virus in Guyana, Minister of Public Health Dr George Norton says.

“The Ministry of Public Health wants to make it very clear that only one case of the Zika virus has been presented in Guyana,” Norton told reporters at a press conference on Friday. He was accompanied by Minister of Citizenship Winston Felix and Minister of Tourism Catherine Hughes along with other health officials attached to the ministry.

A 27-year-old woman, whose addresses were listed as Rose Hall, Corentyne and Covent Garden, East Bank

FM

It would seems that in Guyana today, the epidemic is raising to an alarming proportion, all health centers is inundated with patients. This seems to be something out of a Robin Cook Novel.

FM

I do have information which indicated that one woman from the West Coast Demerara, by CI/ DenAmstel area had to do an abortion to get rid of the unborn baby.

If the Guyana Government is hiding this epidemic here, I guess that it will turn back to bite their ass.

FM
RiffRaff posted:

Look how some on here now wishing Guyana had a Pandemic...dang, yall hate the place that much

Doubting Thomas, maybe in your attitude to praise the PNC/AFC, you have become blind to your one sided opinion.

 

FM
asj posted:
RiffRaff posted:

Look how some on here now wishing Guyana had a Pandemic...dang, yall hate the place that much

Doubting Thomas, maybe in your attitude to praise the PNC/AFC, you have become blind to your one sided opinion.

 

WHere you see praise?

All I saying is that you in your dislike of the Govt will resort to sensationalism to make a point...

ZIKA is not limited to Guyana...it's a big problem in that part of the world

No one is hiding anything...

FM

Zika virus detected in Guyana – Minister Norton

 
 

Minister of Public Health Dr. George Norton says that the first case of the zika virus has been detected in Guyana.

GINA said that addressing the National Assembly, Norton explained that the presence of the virus was confirmed by the Caribbean Public Health Agency in Trinidad and Tobago.

The agency detected the virus in a sample of blood sent from Guyana to the agency. The Ministry of Health was informed about the detection on January 12, Norton reported.

He told the National Assembly that the agency also revealed that the sample came from a female, age 27, whose address is listed as Rosehall, Corentyne and also Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara. The case was said to have the symptoms of fever, body rash and pain, GINA said.

FM

Ecuador, St. Martin and Guyana report local transmission of Zika virus

Posted by on January 17, 2016 // Leave Your Comment

 

United Nations health officials have added three countries to the list of countries and territories with autochthonous transmission of Zika virus infection with that list now standing at 17 in the Americas.

Aedes aegypti/CDC

Aedes aegypti/CDC

Last week, we reported on two confirmed imported Zika cases; however, Ecuadoran health officials are now reporting on two native cases. Veronica Espinosa, deputy cabinet minister said, “We have now detected, confirmed by laboratory tests, the first two native cases. That is, we now have cases of the virus being transmitted by mosquito bites that happened in Ecuadoran territory.”

The two patients were a 23-year-old woman infected in the northwest and a 15-year-old boy infected in the southwest, both now in stable condition.

25 months ago, the Caribbean island of St. Martin reported the first local transmission of another mosquito borne virus, chikungunya, in the New World. The French side of the island has now reported the first autochthonous case of Zika.

Finally, Guyana Minister of Public Health, Dr George Norton announced the first locally acquired Zika case on Thursday as he addressed the National Assembly. He said that the Virus was detected in a 27-year-old female who hails from Rose Hall, Corentyne, Berbice, but also resides at Covent Garden, East Bank Demerara.

Norton says the virus was detected by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Trinidad and Tobago.

FM
asj posted:

For the Government of Guyana to come on the News and say that it is only one case........seems not to be true.

That's a cover up?? Sending blood work for testing is a cover up? Addressing the issue as a potential health hazard is a cover up? Do you know of other cases?

I repeat, Where is the cover up?

A
antabanta posted:
asj posted:

For the Government of Guyana to come on the News and say that it is only one case........seems not to be true.

That's a cover up?? Sending blood work for testing is a cover up? Addressing the issue as a potential health hazard is a cover up? Do you know of other cases?

I repeat, Where is the cover up?

When there are dozens of confirmed cases, and the Government is only pinpointing only one case.......then in my book, I would call that a cover up.

FM

Meanwhile the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued travel guidance for pregnant American women and women of childbearing age who may become pregnant, warning them to avoid visiting places where the virus is currently circulating.

It lists 22 countries and territories with active Zika virus transmission in the Americas: Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Suriname, US Virgin Islands and Venezuela.

FM
asj posted:
antabanta posted:
asj posted:

For the Government of Guyana to come on the News and say that it is only one case........seems not to be true.

That's a cover up?? Sending blood work for testing is a cover up? Addressing the issue as a potential health hazard is a cover up? Do you know of other cases?

I repeat, Where is the cover up?

When there are dozens of confirmed cases, and the Government is only pinpointing only one case.......then in my book, I would call that a cover up.

Where are the dozens of confirmed cases? Were they mentioned in the articles you posted? Who confirmed them?

A
asj posted:

Did the Government reported the lady from West Demerara who had her baby aborted, as her blood works proves positive?

That's the "dozens of cases"? Are you the only person privy to the information on the case with the abortion? Where is this case reported and where was it covered up?

Where is the cover up? Where? Where? Where?

A
antabanta posted:

Where is the cover up?

Assuming that there is no cover up/ pandemic and only one case has been identified, are you suggesting that Guyana should be taken off the PAHO list of affected ZIKA countries?

FM

What Bullshit this is. Oi asj ah told you you gotta stop posting the lies from Guyana Times you gonna look a dummy and nobody's gonna read that shyte.

So as we're all asking WHERE IS THE COVERUP?

cain
cain posted:

What Bullshit this is. Oi asj ah told you you gotta stop posting the lies from Guyana Times you gonna look a dummy and nobody's gonna read that shyte.

So as we're all asking WHERE IS THE COVERUP?

That is what I am trying to find out too, maybe you see or you don't see my opening salvo: There is a question mark there, either you understand or you don't understand.

FM
asj posted:
cain posted:

What Bullshit this is. Oi asj ah told you you gotta stop posting the lies from Guyana Times you gonna look a dummy and nobody's gonna read that shyte.

So as we're all asking WHERE IS THE COVERUP?

That is what I am trying to find out too, maybe you see or you don't see my opening salvo: There is a question mark there, either you understand or you don't understand.

So you do not agree with the article trying to say it's a cover up,am I correct?

cain
Last edited by cain
asj posted:

Meanwhile the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued travel guidance for pregnant American women and women of childbearing age who may become pregnant, warning them to avoid visiting places where the virus is currently circulating.

It lists 22 countries and territories with active Zika virus transmission in the Americas: Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Suriname, US Virgin Islands and Venezuela.

The USA has more than one  confirmed case of Zika and yet they are not on the travel warning List, but Guyana is on that list. Is CDC targeting Guyana???Also Canada has a confirmed case of Zika and they are not on the list.Warning them to avoid visiting places where the virus is currently circulating.including Guyana as one of the 22 countries.Guyana is spending 300millions for it's 50th celebration, after planning a big party and nobody show-up, it will be disappointing , so yes the government is calming all fears of the zika virus, that's their job.

K
asj posted:
cain posted:

What Bullshit this is. Oi asj ah told you you gotta stop posting the lies from Guyana Times you gonna look a dummy and nobody's gonna read that shyte.

So as we're all asking WHERE IS THE COVERUP?

That is what I am trying to find out too, maybe you see or you don't see my opening salvo: There is a question mark there, either you understand or you don't understand.

What reason is there to prompt the question?

A

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