A total of six babies, including a stillbirth case, have been diagnosed with microcephaly since the first local case of Zika was detected earlier this year.
However, the Public Health Ministry is still working to determine whether the occurrence of the condition is directly linked to the Zika virus.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), microcephaly is a condition where a baby is born with a small head or the head stops growing after birth. It is a condition that is so rare, only one baby in several thousand is born with microcephaly annually; those that are diagnosed with the condition may develop convulsions and suffer physical and learning disabilities as they grow older.
WHO says that although there are many potential causes of microcephaly, the cause of the condition often remains unknown.
Of those listed as common causes of microcephaly are: exposure to toxic chemicals, pre- and perinatal injuries to the developing brain, genetic abnormalities such as Down syndrome; severe malnutrition during foetal life, as well as infections during pregnancy, such as toxoplasmosis (caused by a parasite found in undercooked meat), Campylobacter pylori, rubella, herpes, syphilis, cytomegalovirus, HIV and Zika.
Coordinator of Adolescent Health for the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Oneka Scott, who recently completed a stint as acting Director of Maternal and Child Health, told Stabroek News that the first report of a baby born with the condition was received from a private medical institution. The report, she said, prompted the ministry to dispatch a “dynamic” team, comprising a doctor, psychologist, social worker, a surveillance officer and other personnel trained specifically to deal with cases of microcephaly, to offer psycho-social support to the family.
The psycho-social support, she said, provides the parents of the baby with the necessary information that would allow the parents to understand their child’s condition, as well as the challenges they may or may not face when raising a child with microcephaly.
She added that the same strategy was employed once again when they received reports that another woman had given birth to a baby with microcephaly in Region Seven.
The doctor noted that while she would have played a small role in monitoring the families with microcephaly babies during her stint as acting Director of the Maternal and Child Health, she credited Dr. Ertenisa Hamilton, for whom she was filling in, as the being the “backbone” for the development of protocols and public health strategies relative to microcephaly.
“She was instrumental in developing protocols and engaging the necessary stakeholders at the Ministry of Public Health and even those at other ministerial levels when it came to this specific topic,” Scott said.
Scott also moved to acknowledge the efforts of both the Chief Medical Officer Dr. Shamdeo Persaud and Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Karen Boyle as well as Minister of Public Health Dr. George Norton as they “threw the weight behind the work that was being done.”
Additionally, she highlighted those who have continued to partner with the Ministry of Public Health to offer assistance in this specific area, including the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) as well as the United Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
