CHIEF Medical Officer Dr Marion Bullock DuCasse says should the Zika virus (ZIKV) reach Jamaica’s shores, the country has adequate supplies of painkillers in the health system to provide supportive care to those affected.

Responding to questions last Tuesday from youth workers who are to be trained and deployed islandwide to boost the Ministry of Health’s vector control programme in anticipation of the possible introduction of ZIKV, Bullock DuCasse said the ministry recommends the use of paracetamol to manage the effects of the infection.

“We ask that persons do not take aspirin or any medicine that contains it or some of the other anti-inflammatories that people take for more severe pain,” she told the youth workers at the launch of their training programme at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston.

“And in children, these medications can cause other illnesses, so we recommend paracetamol or acetaminophen — those are the two names you look for in any of the preparations. “We have adequate supplies of these medication in the health system — health centres, hospitals,” the CMO continued.

She said, too, that besides ensuring that stocks are in good supply, the health ministry is bringing in additional supplies to ensure that if and when the virus is identified in Jamaica, the country will have additional supplies.

The ministry’s message about using paracetamol such as Panadol, Cetamol and Tylenol in the treatment and management of the Zika virus is the same message they delivered a year ago when the country was reeling from the effects of the chikungunya virus.

Zika virus, which is an emerging disease that is transmitted from human to human by the bites of infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes — the same mosquito that transmits chikungunya and dengue – has been identified in 10 countries in the Americas since December 11.

Those countries are Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Paraguay, Suriname, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Panama. For those who may be required to take aspirin or other such medication on a daily basis, Bullock DuCasse advised they contact their doctors if they are afflicted by the virus.

“There are some persons who have to take aspirin or other such medication on a daily basis for their other medical conditions; they need to be in close contact with their doctor to monitor them for any complication, or the health care worker,” Bullock DuCasse said.

“So you go to the health centre and they will guide you, but you have to be monitored. We don’t want persons to stop taking their medication and then have other, more serious complications which can affect their life.

So those persons have to see their doctor, they will get the advice about what to do,” she continued.

“Sometimes they change the dose of how much you take, but those are special situations and the doctors and health-care workers will provide the advice.”

Bullock DuCasse also spoke to the high-risk groups of people who may have underlying conditions that could be further complicated if they are infected.

She said people with other health conditions can be more severely affected. “And we know it is the children, the elderly, persons with the chronic disease — diabetes, hypertension, asthma is also one of those, and for all of these groups — their immune systems, how they are able to fight diseases, is weakened,” the CMO explained.

“So, in general, any illness that they come down with, it can be worse for them.” She then insisted that for that reason, one of the messages the youth health-care workers must spread when they visit communities is that people should avoid being bitten by the mosquito.

“Persons who I have just described, those who are at a greater risk, you take all the steps to destroy (mosquito) breeding sites and still then, you have to prevent yourself being bitten because the infected mosquito has to bite you and then you become infected,” she said.

“So if you wear your insect repellent, if you wear your long-sleeved clothes — children, the elderly — all who can, sleep under the bed net, so when you’re sleeping they can’t bite you.”

Bullock DuCasse advised that people in those groups, as well as the rest of the population, take special precautions to reduce mosquito-breeding sites.

The youth workers were the first batch, 300 in total, who are among the 1,000 health care workers to be trained and deployed to communities across the island where they will distribute educational material, assist householders with identifying mosquito breeding sites and advise householders on the actions to take.

The first batch of youth health-care workers will be deployed to St Catherine, St Thomas, Kingston and St Andrew — parishes within the South East Regional Health Authority.

The youth workers, who will be paid $7,500 per week, will also participate in two-day training sessions in each parish, which will be done by the respective parish health departments.