PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – At least 15 countries in the Caribbean have reported cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has said.

CARPHA executive director, Dr James Hospedales, in a video update on the virus in the Caribbean region, said the problem with Zika, which was originally described as a “mild disease” now appears to be causing an increase in two rare health situations.

He said the virus appears to be the main agent for spreading the issue of babies being born with small heads and the neurological problem called Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).

“Both Guillain-Barré and microcephaly are very rare and they are not required to be reported in Caribbean countries… so there are no base line data on them,” he said, adding that CARPHA is now in the process of setting up the base line data.

He said regarding the spread of the virus there were factors not in the region’s favour.

“We have the very susceptible population that has not met this virus before, we have widespread Aedes Ageypti mosquitoes, we have a lot of travel in and out of the region. There is another factor, in many of our countries in the next two months the rainy season will begin and that will increase the possibility of breeding of the mosquito.

“So this is the time to focus on the containment, the control …to reduce mosquito breeding,” Dr Hospedales said, reiterating that, regarding the GBS, “this is a rare condition of approximately one per 100,000 people per year would develop it.

“It is not spread by mosquitoes, it often follows… a pre-existing condition…and what happens is the body’s immune system in attempting to fight the virus also cross reacts, damages the nerves, and you get the inflammation in the lining of the nerves viral and the ascending paralysis that can come with Guillain-Barré”.

He said males, particularly older males, are at a higher risk than women and that member countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) “may see one or two cases per year…

“The situation is evolving and every day every week we become more aware of different aspects of the spread of the disease,” he added.

Earlier this week, the head of the United Nations health agency issued a new warning on the virus, saying that “the more we know the worse things look”.

World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General Dr Margaret Chan, said that in less than a year, the status of Zika has changed from “a mild medical curiosity” to a disease with severe public health implications.

She, however, said the knowledge base was building very rapidly, and she thanked all countries and their scientists who have worked to help build up the evidence base.

“The virus is currently circulating in 38 countries and territories. On present knowledge, no one can predict whether the virus will spread to other parts of the world and cause a similar pattern of foetal malformations and neurological disorders.

“If this pattern is confirmed beyond Latin America and the Caribbean, the world will face a severe public health crisis,” Chan warned.