KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Ministry of Health says systems have been put in place to track and monitor all pregnant women who have tested positive, and those who are suspected to have had Zika.

According to a release from the ministry, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said this will be done through the existing Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission Programme at high-risk clinics throughout the island.

 Some of the major high-risk clinics are located at St Ann’s Bay, Victoria Jubilee, Cornwall Regional, Spanish Town hospitals and the University Hospital of the West Indies, among others.

“Jamaica has an excellent track record in managing high risk pregnant women through the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission programme and so we will continue to use this model to manage pregnant women who may have been exposed to the Zika virus,” he said.

As part of this initiative, public health nurses have been trained and strategically placed at all major high risk clinics to help manage and monitor pregnant women exposed to Zika through their pregnancy.  The list of those suspected and confirmed to have Zika is passed to this team of nurses. Obstetricians, midwives and other staff at the high risk and general antenatal clinics are also trained to manage these pregnant women.

The ministry said that there has been distribution of new delivery books designed to record and track a number of indicators including head circumference as part of measures to detect microcephaly and other congenital disorders. These have been in use as of August 1, 2016. Based on research and experience from other countries the assumption is that 10 per cent of pregnant women exposed to the zika virus may have a child with microcephaly.

Individuals who wish to obtain more information are asked to call the Ministry of Health or the nearest health centre.