The Ministry of Public Health’s national Epidemiology director, Raquel Pimentel says it is to early to talk about any microcephaly cases that may have been caused by the presence of Zika virus in the country. She pointed out that the virus had only been detected in the Dominican Republic a month ago. In an interview on “Conversando de salud” on Super 7 radio show (107.7FM) yesterday, Thursday 11 February 2016, Pimentel said that there was still no confirmation that the cases detected in recent newborns in Brazil were related to the virus. She highlighted that current initiatives in the Dominican Republic are focused on eliminating breeding areas for the mosquitoes that transmits zika, dengue and chikungunya.
The Ministry of Public Health has confirmed eight cases of zika out of 38 samples sent to CDC in the United States for testing. This brings the total number of confirmed Zika cases in the Dominican Republic so far to 18.
http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/2016/02/11/i205113_epidemiologia-cree-poco-probable-casos-microcefalia-por-zika-estos-momentos.html#.Vr2zHEvxj7I
