Up until September 24th 2016, there are 46 confirmed cases of Zika in Belize. Surveillance Officer Lorna Perez gave us a break down of those cases based on districts. Perez also detailed the number of pregnant women who are infected with the virus.

Lorena Perez, Surveillance Officer, Epidemiology Unit
"When we look at the numbers here we have 581 suspected cases of these, 305 have actually been screened which means a blood sample or a urine sample has been collected from these persons which represents 52.5% of all suspected cases being screened. If you look at raw numbers, Belize district has 262 suspected cases with 21 actually positive cases, but if we look at the rates which really looks at the proportion of persons infected per the population in that community, you will find that Toledo actually has 2 infections for every 10,000 population which is the highest rate in the country, but in regards to numbers like I said Belize is next, followed by Cayo as the districts where we are having most of these cases. Looking at pregnancy now, I know this is one of our concerns because of the complications related to this. As expected, the districts with the most cases are also reporting the highest numbers of pregnant women infected with the virus. Cayo has 5 and Belize district has 1 for a total of 6 cases."

In terms of the district breakdown, Corozal is the only district with no confirmed Zika cases. As you heard, Belize with 21 confirmed cases and Cayo with 13, have the highest number of cases. Now shifting over to pregnant women, as you heard, 6 pregnant women have Zika. 3 have already given birth and so far there are no signs of microcephaly or other physical or neurological abnormalities in the babies. But health coordinators say that they will monitor these children for 3 years because those same complications can develop over time. Child and Maternity Health Advisor, Dr. Natalia Largaespada-Beer told us more about the other birth defects Zika can cause in babies and she also outlined the importance of protected sex between pregnant women and their partners.

Dr. Natalia Largaespada-Beer, Technical Advisor, Child & Maternity Health Unit
"The surveillance of the effects on exposed infants has now expanded from not only microcephaly but to other congenital malformations related to Zika such as Genito-urinary, cardiac and digestive systems, hearing and visual abnormalities. The scope of the syndrome will expand as further information on and longer follow up of affected children becomes available. A lot is still to to know from the effects of the Zika virus. A reminder, causes of microcephaly are not only Zika virus infections, it can be caused in the womb or in infancy, meaning after birth. For pregnant women they should practice safer sex or abstain from sexual activity. This is recommended for the entire duration of the pregnancy so here the partners are important because without their active participation, none of these 2 can be practiced. Usually they have concerns like 'why use a condom if I'm already pregnant?' it's to reduce the risk of the transmission of the virus through sexual contact."

Dr. John Sosa, Neurologist, KHMH
"Again, when it comes to microcephaly, if we do not get our test in our pregnant women fast enough and sometimes women don't even present to a clinic for follow up. We have a case right now of a lady who is 17 with a baby who was born at 32 weeks pregnancy or premature with microcephaly and brain abnormalities suggestive of Zika. This person never did go to a health center and when she was sent here to the lab to do a Zika test, she never did go or go back to the clinic. so things like that can happen which is why we need to educate the public that it is important for them to do their prenatal care and if we send them for testing, it is important that they come and do our tests. People will fall through the cracks and we may have microcephaly to Zika unreported because we just don't know."

Health officials stress, that those women who are planning to get pregnant, and who are pregnant with symptoms of Zika, need to go for regular doctor check up's. For pregnant women showing signs of Zika, it is advised to get at least 3 ultra sounds done throughout the pregnancy so doctors can monitor and detect any abnormalities in the fetus as it matures. Also pregnant women are advised to use condoms when having sex with their partners to avoid spreading the virus since it can be contracted sexually. Lastly, in terms of microcephalic cases, there are 3 cases in Belize BUT health officials say they are not linked to Zika but to other birth complications.