The Ministry of Health has employed several strategies to ensure the Health Sector is able to manage and mitigate the impact of the Zika Virus. Health Practitioners in the public and private sector have been informed and the Ministry of Health is working closely with them.
Some of the strategies include the creation of clinical guidelines that have been posted to the Ministry of Health’s website; stocking of adequate supplies of the requisite medication to appropriately treat all forms of Zika manifestation; and preparation of Intensive Care Units and High Dependency areas.
Additional ventilators will be procured and repairs made to the ones that do not work. There is a strong focus on pregnant women and Minister of Health Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton has said “we are using our existing systems under the very successful Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission Programme to monitor pregnant women and their babies in our clinics. This model has worked well over the years and the staff is already trained in this regard.”
These initiatives, to prepare the Health Sector, forms part of the Ministry of Health’s Phase Two Response to the Zika virus.