Health and Social Security Minister Nickolas Steele says there is need for a collective effort to mitigate against the effects of Zika, with nine confirmed and 30 suspected cases of the virus.
During the weekly post cabinet briefing, Minister Steele said two persons are currently warded with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), at the General Hospital. Guillain-Barré is a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. The first symptoms of this disorder include varying degrees of weakness or tingling sensations in the legs.
“We do have right now in Grenada two cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome one of them we have able to confirm the individual do have or did had zika”, said Minister Steele.
The treatment for Guillain-Barré is immunoglobulin, and the cost for treatment is 23,000 dollars per person.
Minister Steele says with the assistance of PAHO, they were able to secure one vial from the eight available – in Panama that will be administered to the first patient, and they now must secure a another.
He said, “as far as the WHO is concerned, what we are dealing with in terms of Zika and previously with CHIKV throughout the region is one of the first confirmed signs of climate change and that, it is not a failure within the individual government of the region”.
The Minister says expectant mothers will receive counselling as they put systems in place to deal with microcephaly, another side effect of Zika.
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