Patient being treated at MCMH for Zika-related Guillain-Barre Syndrome

An adult patient diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), suspected to be related to Zika virus infection, is currently being treated at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.

A release issued by the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment on July 9 informed of this development and said the patient is stable and is receiving the recommended treatment, immunoglobulin.{{more}}

GBS is a condition which affects the nerves of the body and can result in varying degrees of weakness, even paralysis.

According to the release, the immunoglobulin was sourced through the Pan American Health Organization, as per the established Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment Zika Management protocols.

The release said in sourcing the medication, the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment collaborated closely with the local Pan American Health Organization country programme specialist, Anneke Wilson, the chief medical officer of Grenada, Dr George Mitchell, and the staff of SVGAIR.

The Ministry expressed “enormous thanks and appreciation to these individuals and their particular organizations for their willingness to lend the necessary support.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry says it is providing psychosocial support to pregnant women who may have been exposed to the Zika virus, and monitors them regularly. Additionally, the Ministry is providing medicated mosquito nets to all pregnant women who are registered at our antenatal clinics.

“The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment emphasizes the importance of everyone, not just pregnant women, using insect repellents and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long skirts or pants, to avoid being bitten by the aedes aegypti mosquito, the vector, which carries Zika, Chikungunya and Dengue Fever. Everyone is urged to get rid of all mosquito breeding sites in their homes, yards and workplaces, by securely covering or turning over any containers holding water, placing fine mesh over the vents of septic tanks and clearing gutters and spouting.

In a June 13 release, the Ministry of Health said the number of laboratory confirmed Zika cases as at that date was 28, which included one pregnant woman.