HEALTH Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says pregnant women with any symptom suggestive of the Zika virus infection are tested.

“We continue to be guided by the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organisation and Centers for Disease Control guidelines which are continually being updated,” Dr Tufton told the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

He said that Jamaica has an excellent record in managing high-risk pregnant women, through the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission programme, and has in place a platform in which public health nurses and midwives are placed strategically at all major high-risk clinics, including St Ann’s Bay, Victoria Jubilee, Cornwall Regional and Spanish Town hospitals, as well as the University Hospital of the West Indies.

“The group has been briefed and trained to follow and monitor pregnant women exposed to zika. They along with obstetricians, midwives and other staff at the high-risk and general antenatal clinics are being trained to form the team to manage these pregnant women and their infants,” the minister said.

He noted that the list of those suspected and confirmed to have Zika is passed to this team of nurses who will provide support to the women, ensuring the requisite monitoring is carried out throughout pregnancy.

“We continue to advise all pregnant women to seek antenatal care as early as possible, especially those who are found to be Zika positive, Tufton stated.

He added that “world leaders in this area” will be coming to Jamaica at the end of October to establish the necessary research to be done.

Professor Celia Christie of the University of the West Indies (UWI) is the leader of the group of Jamaican physicians and scientists involved. Professor Christie has been working closely with the Ministry of Health.

— Balford Henry