AMERICA/HAITI - Catholic Medical Mission launches the alarm about the spread of Zika virus on the island

Monday, 4 April 2016

CM

Port au Prince (Agenzia Fides) - Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. "The lack of education, information, the number of people living in slums and the level of stagnant water everywhere, are the ideal habitat for the proliferation and spread of the mosquito vector of Zika virus", said, in a note sent to Fides, a doctor of Catholic Medical Mission. Currently, the Catholic Medical Mission Board is promoting local fumigation activities to eliminate the bug, but preventing its spread is still very difficult. The local Ministry of Health has reported a significant increase in cases of Zika. In January those confirmed went from from 96 to 329 in less than three weeks. The Haitian Health Foundation, which has a staff of 180 professionals engaged in rural clinics and health care awareness across the country, said that one or two have been identified as possible cases of microcephaly linked to Zika but it is too early to confirm whether the unborn will have birth defects. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 04/04/2016)


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