The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment has been officially informed by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that it will be placed on the CDC Travel watch list.
A release from the Ministry of Health says the CDC has indicated that it will update its Travel Notice website to include St Vincent and the Grenadines among the areas listed as having Zika virus circulation.
The Travel Notice is currently at Watch-Level 2, which requires travelers to “practice enhanced precautions.” Special precautions are recommended for pregnant women, who are advised to consider postponing travel, and for women of childbearing age who are planning to become pregnant, who are advised to consult with their Doctor before traveling. All travelers are urged to, as usual, strictly adhere to mosquito bite precautions.
The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment has also indicated that it has been commended, along with its partners by regional health institutions for the efficient way in which SVG has dealt with the notification of and subsequent response to the first Laboratory confirmation of Zika virus in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
As of March 1, 2016, this initial case remains the only Laboratory confirmed case here in SVG. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Simone Keizer Beache is encouraging the public to work even more closely with the Ministry in the various activities to clean up SVG and fight the mosquito, which is the source of the problem.
She is also reinforcing the important measures of source reduction and vector control.
