38 confirmed cases of Zika virus in Guna Yala

  A PANAMA travel alert for pregnant women  was issued last week because of the mosquito transmitted  Zika virus  and  since then 38 cases have been confirmed in Guna Yala.

The spread of the virus in South America has drawn world wide attention  It can lead to microcephaly (babies born with smaller brains)

Among those affected  in Guna Yala is a pregnant woman, a child under one year of age, five people over 75 years, and the rest  are among all age groups.

“The pregnant woman is 28 weeks and is currently in prenatal” said  Itza Barahona de Mosca, Director General of Panama’s Ministry of Health (MoH)  “We cannot confirm that the fetus has microcephaly, however, after the birth the baby and mother will remain under observation.”.

Dr Barahona said  that besides the Zika virus, residents of the  islands suffer from dengue and chikungunya, but  the Ministry is taking all preventive measures in the region.

She said that pregnant women should avoid being bitten by a mosquito, using repellents and mosquito nets, and should not be exposed in the  morning and evening, when mosquitoes circulate.

The Zika virus has been linked to a recent increase in birth defects including microcephaly, where newborns have smaller heads than average and their brains do not develop properly.

In Brazil, they have significantly increased cases of microcephaly with 3,893 babies suffering from the condition since authorities began investigating in October. Less than 150 cases were registered in 2014.

In Colombia, the authorities expect over 1,600 to be infected, with serious consequences only in pregnant women, and have  asked couples not to  have children at this time.

This week the first case of zika  was identified in Bolivia, in an eight-months pregnant woman and in  Hawaii, the first child with microcephaly was born.

The MoH  said that in Panama there are no cases of microcephaly related to zika.