The Director General for Health Services of the Ministry of Health, Dr Odete da Silva Viegas said that with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO), the ministry has been able to establish the team that will implement a zika virus prevention program in Timor-Leste.
Dr Viegas said the team has already begun raising awareness in the community about the zika virus and on preventative measures because the community will play a key role in the prevention of the spread of the virus.
“The ministry established the team that will conduct the program in the community,” added Dr Viegas during a media workshop about the zika virus held recently at the Novo Turismo Hotel, in Dili.
She said that even though there has not been a registered case of infection with the zika virus in Timor-Leste that the country needs to create adequate conditions and prepare the necessary human resources to prevent its transmission through the aedes aegypti or dengue mosquito.
The virus is not able to be tested for at the National Laboratory (LABNAS) in Timor-Leste due to lack of a reagent but samples have been sent to India for further testing.
Meanwhile WHO’s Country Representative in Timor-Leste Dr Rajesh Pandav explained the zika virus is transmitted by the aedes aegypti or dengue mosquito, and even though infected patients may not present symptoms that it needs to be taken seriously.
“The important thing is to clear areas where the mosquito may breed, to use long pants and long sleeved shirts, sleep under mosquito nets, shut windows and use mosquito repellent,” added Dr Pandav.
He added that WHO will support the ministry of health with training for its health personnel on case identification and management, by strengthening the services of the national laboratory, the implementation of a prevention health campaign, and the with the establishment of patient services.
Dr Pandav said also that the spread of the zika virus became a global issue after a spike in cases of microcephaly (babies born with small heads) and Guillain-Barre syndrome (paralysis) in Brazil, and that affected in particular pregnant women.
Even though studies are still underway on the correlation between cases of Guillain Barre syndrome and microcephaly affecting in particular Brazilian patients; world health experts suspect these may be caused by the zika virus infections.
Based on the data gathered by WHO from 2007-2016, the cities and countries mostly affected by the zika virus are: Cape Town in South Africa, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Corazon in Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Suriname, the American Virgin Islands, Venezuela, Maldives, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Gabon, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippine and Malaysia.
Most cases of zika virus infection have been recorded in Brazil with 56.318 cases, followed by Colombia with 20.297 cases compared with other countries were new cases have only started being detected from October 2015 to January 2016.
Meanwhile the Health Director of Dili Municipality Agustinha da Costa Saldanha said when her teams go and raise awareness in the community that residents are shocked because the information about the virus is new to them.
“The communities get a shock when hearing about this virus but we use simple words to make them understand. We also encourage them to be pro-active in the prevention of its spread.”
