by STAFF WRITER
PARAMARIBO, Suriname, Jan 20, CMC – The director of the Public Health Bureau (BOG), Lesly Resida said that an unidentified 75-year-old man had become the country’s fourth casualty of the mosquito-borne Zika virus.
He said that the man died over the weekend at the Academic Hospital, and had also shown symptoms of other health problems.
The virus is characterized as a viral disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito that causes fever, muscle and joint pain, headache, nausea and rash.
It was first reported in the Americas in Brazil, where according to Brazilian health authorities, more than 3,500 cases were reported between October 2015 and January this year.
Earlier this month, health officials here said that from October last year, 103 people had been tested positive for the Zika virus.
“It seemed there was a peak and then a drop in the number of cases reported, but that could be related to the illness appearing mild and harmless and people choosing to ride it out a home,” the BOG reported.
The Public Health Bureau said it would continue to stress on the community the importance of taking the virus seriously.
“People should work consistently on cleaning debris and possible breeding spots for the virus spreading mosquito,” it added.
The US Center for Disease Control this week issued a health advisory warning pregnant women to postpone travel to any area where the Zika virus is present.
