MoH on Zika virus high alert

Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Thursday February 25, 2016 17:02

 

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Shenaaz El-Halabi, said the ministry is monitoring the situation and is on high alert. She said they have reactivated the response teams and have engaged other stakeholders such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) to seek technical support.

“Our epidemic preparedness is on. We continue to monitor the situation both globally and regionally since the first case of the current outbreak was reported in May 2015 in South America. And we will enhance our surveillance on the virus,” she said.

However, El-Halabi noted that while the ministry is monitoring the situation, it is too early to have ports of entry manned. She also said they will not be rushing to place nurses at border posts.  “We don’t think we are at that stage to have our ports of entry manned. We feel it is not yet necessary to have full time nurses in our ports of entry. However all the stakeholders are on high alert.” She said past outbreaks have given them the experience to deal with any outbreak. She also called for vigilance as disease outbreaks are common as the world experiences fluctuating temperatures.

A representative of WHO, Kentse Moakofhi, said they will continue to offer technical support and help countries enhance their surveillance on Zika. She commended the MoH saying their epidemic preparedness is on point. She also stated that WHO has not imposed any travelling restrictions but advised people to take preventative actions.

According to Dr Nesredin Jami, a Public Health Specialist, the Zika virus is a mosquito borne disease which one gets when bitten by the Aedes mosquito. He explained that the illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week.

“Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for a few days but it can be found longer in some people,” he explained.

He said the virus infection presents with a mild fever, rash, headache, joint and muscle pain and reddish discolouration of the eye. He also explained that the virus rarely kills people but is associated with an increase in babies born with microcephaly.