Govt on zika virus high alert

14 Feb, 2016 - 00:02 0 Views

The Sunday News

Lungile Tshuma Sunday News Correspondent
GOVERNMENT has set up monitoring and surveillance systems in place to detect the Zika virus which is reported to be prevalent in Brazil as the pandemic can spread to other countries. Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Health and Child Care Deputy Minister Dr Aldrin Musiiwa said although the virus is transmitted through mosquites called aedes which are also found in Zimbabwe, the country is still safe and further assured people that they have put in place systems to detect the virus early.

“It has been declared by the WHO that it is now a pandemic and it can spread all over the world. At the moment, we have not had Zika in Zimbabwe but we are taking precautions. Our monitoring and surveillance systems are already in place to detect any such effects,” said Dr Musiiwa.

“It is a viral disease that is spread by mosquitoes. It is pertinent because we also have mosquitoes in this country but the type of mosquito that spreads this type of infection is different from the mosquito that causes malaria. The one that causes malaria is the female anopheles mosquito. The one that causes the Zika virus is known as Aedes. It is also found locally in Zimbabwe.”

At the moment there is no cure for the virus. The danger with this the virus is that it affects unborn babies.

Mostly pregnant mothers are affected by this virus and they end up giving birth to children with defects, said the Deputy Minister. The symptoms include fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise and headaches. These symptoms are usually mild and last for two to seven days.

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