There are now 42 confirmed cases of the Zika virus in Guyana. This is according to Chief Medical Officer Dr Shamdeo Persaud, who told reporters yesterday that the Ministry of Public Health is conducting testing of samples from around the country.
“The disease itself often carries very mild symptoms. It is not unusual for infected persons to travel and after being bitten spread the disease to different regions,” he said.
Zika a virus transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito was first confirmed in Guyana on January 12 when the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) established that a sample sent for testing from a 27-year-old woman, whose addresses were listed as both Rose Hall, Corentyne and Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara had tested positive.
Since that time the disease has been confirmed in patients from Regions 4, 6 and 10.
Signs of the illness include fever, headache, joint and muscle pain, rash and sometimes swelling of the limbs. Some persons may also experience vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain.
