In normal times I would ignore this piece on Zika which at present offers little threat to Myanmar people. But one phrase in this paragraph caught my eye.
"According to a permanent secretary at the Ministry of Health, officials met yesterday to discuss Zika virus control and prevention policies. "At the meeting, the health minister explained the current situation about the outbreak of the Zika virus,” he said, asking that his name not be used as he lacked authority to speak to press."
If a Ministry of Health permanent secretary is not authorised to speak to journalists, who is? Good governance demands transparency on the part of the Minister and his staff.
Jamie
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Govt launches Zika virus awareness campaign
Shwe Yee Saw Myint
Myanmar Times
Friday, 05 February 2016
Following a confirmed case of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in Thailand this week, Myanmar’s Ministry of Health is launching a public awareness campaign.
At the same time, the World Health Organization has warned that the global outbreak, which began in Brazil, is spreading “explosively”, and pegged Asia as vulnerable to the disease, for which there is no cure and no vaccine.
There have been no confirmed cases in Myanmar.
The virus has been linked to deformities in infants including microcephaly, and the rare paralysis-inducing autoimmune disease Guillian-Barre Syndrome, but does not cause symptoms in up to 80 percent of patients. Those who do experience symptoms may see signs similar to dengue infections, including fever, skin rash, muscle and joint pain, and a headache, according to the WHO. Although the Zika virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947, few cases were identified until an isolated outbreak in 2007 in Micronesia, and then another, large outbreak in Polynesia in 2013. The current outbreak has affected several million people, primarily in the Americas.
According to a permanent secretary at the Ministry of Health, officials met yesterday to discuss Zika virus control and prevention policies.
At the meeting, the health minister explained the current situation about the outbreak of the Zika virus,” he said, asking that his name not be used as he lacked authority to speak to press.
Dr Soe Lwin Nyein, a director of public health, said the “necessary precautionary and preventative measures” will be taken, as with previous viral outbreaks such as MERS and avian flu.
He added government will print an official warning about the Zika virus in the state newspapers, and hold awareness campaigns across the country.
Daw Thandar, another director in the public health department, told The Myanmar Times the ministry will be “monitoring” for Zika, but has not seen any cases yet.
Thailand and Indonesia have both announced confirmed cases, but urged the public to stay calm as neither scenario is an outbreak.
Dr Myint Oo, a doctor at a private clinic at Kyeemyindaing township in Yangon, said doctors are unsure how to go about diagnosing the Zika virus since the symptoms are similar to dengue and chikungunya, but most clinics do not have blood laboratories.
“Some older patients have come to my clinic with a fever and epistaxis but I do not know if they have this virus because we have no blood laboratory,” he said.
Dr Mie Mie Ko, managing director of healthcare services at the Myanmar medical association, said Myanmar’s doctors are concerned about the Zika virua since it is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito which also spread dengue. Last year, the country saw an uptick in dengue cases.
“We are trying to share awareness and knowledge of this virus, but have received no official government instructions or guidelines,” she said.
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/18836-govt-launches-zika-virus-awareness-campaign.html
