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L'OMS ajoute Haïti à la liste des pays frappés par le virus Zika

L'OMS ajoute Haïti à la liste des pays frappés par le virus Zika

L'Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) rapporte que cinq cas d'infection au virus Zika ont été identifiés en Haïti. Cependant, l'OMS ne formule aucune restriction à l'intention des voyageurs désireux de se rendre dans ce pays.

Haïti est situé sur l'île d'Hispaniola et est voisin de la République dominicaine, où de nombreux vacanciers canadiens se rendent chaque année.

Des cinq cas recensés d'infection au virus Zika, quatre ont été repérés dans la région de Delmas, tandis qu'un autre a été recensé à Pétionville. Ces deux localités sont non loin de Port-au-Prince, la capitale.

De plus, l'OMS rapporte que deux citoyens allemands qui avaient visité Haïti en décembre ont été infectés par le virus.

Des moustiques en cause

Les autorités haïtiennes ont intensifié les activités de surveillance et pris des mesures pour informer la population des risques associés au virus Zika. Ce dernier est transmis par des moustiques, principalement par l'Aedes aegypti, principal vecteur de la dengue.

Il n'existe pas de médicament contre le Zika. Pas de vaccin non plus. Bien que le virus puisse avoir des conséquences graves sur la santé, il ne provoque généralement que des infections bénignes.

Au Brésil toutefois, le virus a été associé à une vague récente de malformations congénitales, notamment la microcéphalie. Ce problème rare afflige les nouveau-nés d'une tête plus petite que la normale et empêche leur cerveau de se développer correctement.

Un premier cas de microcéphalie attribué au virus Zika a été décelé aux États-Unis, la semaine dernière.

INOLTRE SU HUFFPOST

Livia Saavedra
Dgenebou Soumah, 20, Coyah Prefecture
"Her fiancé came to see her when she came home, but she doesn’t know if they will get married. Despite the death of her mother, her aunt, and her niece, she is full of life."
Livia Saavedra
M’Balia, Coyah Prefecture
"M’Balia’s husband died in September. She is now facing extreme poverty and cannot afford to feed her children every day. As a widow with two children, she has no chance of remarrying."
Livia Saavedra
Fanta and Sydia Bangoura
"Only the little girl was infected with the disease. The children haven’t realized that they are now orphans. The problem of caring for children affected by the disease is becoming urgent."
Livia Saavedra
M’Balia Sylla with her father-in-law
"Her father-in-law has always supported her. It took a lot of persuasion from the community health workers to convince her to seek treatment. She works at the nursing station at the KM 36 military barracks. Ever since she received her certificate of discharge from the military, her community has been more present."
Livia Saavedra
Kanta, Conakry
"Kanta is from a Wahhabi family. Despite her unease and the horrible stigma she suffers, she wants to speak up about her experience."
Livia Saavedra
Bengali Souma, 27
"He lost his job and has to care for his younger brother and sister. He will need to be very successful in order to reintegrate into his community, otherwise they will continue to think that he is cursed."
Livia Saavedra
Nyanbalamou Gabou, 24
"Nyanbalamou Gabou is a medical student. He raised awareness about the disease with his neighbors before being infected. As a result, he wasn’t rejected by his community when he returned home."
Livia Saavedra
Mamadou Sadio Bah
"Mamadou Sadio Bah is a doctor in a health center. Ever since he got sick, he has been working to dispel myths about the disease."
Livia Saavedra
Fanta Camara, 25
"She works at the Ebola Treatment Center in Donka. She lost her position as a teacher because of her illness."
Livia Saavedra
Fanta Cherif
"Fanta Cherif remains hidden in her house. Her friends don’t call her any more and her studies have been put on hold by her illness. The after-effects of the virus lasted for a long time in her case. You can recover from Ebola but still experience symptoms for up to seven weeks."
Livia Saavedra
Fatoumata Binta
"Ever since her brother and five members of her family died, Fatoumata Binta has had to take care of her younger brother. Her neighbors have closed the shutters facing her house. She is thinking about working at the Ebola center in Donka."
Livia Saavedra
"Crazy rumors about the Ebola epidemic are making it even more difficult for health workers to do their jobs. In the absence of treatment, the sick turn to their traditional healer, which contributes to the spread of the disease."
Livia Saavedra
"People living in Coyah or at the KM 36 military base (shown above), who are infected with Ebola have to be treated at the Ebola Treatment Center in Donka Hospital in Conakry."
Livia Saavedra
"Two of the main epicenters for the disease are in Nzerekore in Forest Guinea and in Conakry (shown above)."
Livia Saavedra
"The sanitary conditions, the lack of access to running water, and poverty are preventing the population from fighting the Ebola outbreak."
Livia Saavedra
"A prevention poster in Conakry. The government’s delay in responding to the crisis and the 24 billion Guinean francs in cuts from the health budget at the beginning of the outbreak contributed to the overall scale of the epidemic."

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