![](https://i0.wp.com/www.nbcsvg.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Zika-mosquito-1024x576.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1)
This 2006 photo provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a female Aedes aegypti mosquito in the process of acquiring a blood meal from a human host. On Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, U.S. health officials are telling pregnant women to avoid travel to Latin America and Caribbean countries with outbreaks of a tropical illness linked to birth defects. The Zika virus is spread through mosquito bites from Aedes aegypti and causes only a mild illness in most people. But theres been mounting evidence linking the virus to a surge of a rare birth defect in Brazil. (James Gathany/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via AP)
Regional health experts are expected to discuss the way forward in the fight against the Zika virus at a national Symposium to be held here this week.
The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), will host the Zika Symposium on Thursday, February 18th, at the NIS Conference Facility, from 5.30 pm.
The Symposium coincides with the Director PAHO, Dr. Carissa Etienne, who will present remarks Symposium.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Simone Keizer-Beache, said the symposium is another indication of the regional effort to tackle the Zika virus.