Dr. Sharon Belmar-George
Despite warning against pregnancy has increased globally in light of the Zika virus outbreak, the Ministry of Health has said that it will not advise people to hold back on their pregnancies.
This disclosure was made by Senior Medical Officer at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Sharon Belmar-George, when asked to respond to the issue at a press conference held on Thursday.
Belmar-George said while the Ministry of Health is aware of the association between the Zika virus and microcephaly, it will not seek to dictate what people do.
“The ministry is aware of persons…the human rights issue involved and the timing of the pregnancy is really a decision of a couple and not the Ministry of Health,” she asserted.
She said the Ministry of Health’s responsibility is to provide a safe environment and provide the necessary services to care for persons who may or may not get pregnant at this point.
“So we are working to strengthen our services and public health system, to ensure the best outcome of anybody who may or may not get pregnant at this time,” she explained.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States had advised pregnant American women not to travel to countries such as: Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin and Guyana, among others because of the Zika virus.
The CDC had also recommended that women who have traveled to these places during their pregnancy be screened and monitored for the mosquito-borne virus.
Pope Francis has even advised pregnant women to use contraception to avoid the spread of the Zika virus. US health officials have also confirmed that Zika could be transmitted through sexual intercourse.
Brazilian authorities estimate that the country could have up to 1 million Zika infections by now, and since September the country has registered nearly 4,000 cases of babies born with microcephaly. A link between the virus and microcephaly has not been proved but is strongly suspected by scientists.
There is currently no vaccine for the Zika virus and scientists have said it could take years to develop one that is both safe and effective.
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