In Light Of Zika Virus Surge In U.S.V.I, D.O.H. Is Hosting Territory-Wide Public Forums

In response to the rise in Zika cases in the territory and the recent discovery that Zika can be sexually transmitted by both men and women, the Department of Health is sponsoring two Zika public forums, one in each district, D.O.H. made known via press release Friday.

The department is inviting the entire community and especially pregnant women and their partners, since pregnant women are at risk of having babies with Zika-related birth defects. The virus has been linked to unusually small heads and brain damage in newborns — called microcephaly — in children born to infected mothers, as well as blindness, deafness, seizures and other congenital defects. In adults, the virus is linked to a form of temporary paralysis, called Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Participants will learn how Zika is spread, what the symptoms are, the ways they can protect their families and more. The events are part of a larger D.O.H. outreach campaign to both clinicians and the general public to help reduce the spread of Zika, according to the release.

The Zika public forum, dubbed “Everything you wanted to know about Zika… but didn’t get to ask”, will feature Assistant Commissioner of Health Taetia Dorsett; Disease Detective Aaron Harris, MD, MPH, who will be coming from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta; Territorial Epidemiologist Esther Ellis, PhD; local physicians who are on the frontlines of the Zika response; and pregnant women who will share their experiences with D.O.H.’s free Zika services.

The events will take place on Tuesday in St. Croix at U.V.I.’s Great Hall and Wednesday in St. Thomas at the Charlotte Kimelman Cancer Center Auditorium, located at the Schneider Regional Medical Center. Both events will start at 5:30 p.m. and run until 7:30 p.m.

For more information and questions about Zika in the territory, or Zika testing information, call D.O.H.’s Emergency Operations Center at 340-712-6205.