Health - Sierra Leone

The current outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has been associated with an apparent increased risk of congenital microcephaly. We describe a case of a pregnant woman and her fetus infected with ZIKV during the 11th gestational week. The fetal head circumference decreased from the 47th percentile to the 24th percentile between 16 and 20 weeks of gestation. ZIKV RNA was identified in maternal serum at 16 and 21 weeks of gestation. At 19 and 20 weeks of gestation, substantial brain abnormalities were detected on ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) without the presence of microcephaly or intracranial calcifications. On postmortem analysis of the fetal brain, diffuse cerebral cortical thinning, high ZIKV RNA loads, and viral particles were detected, and ZIKV was subsequently isolated.

read more at: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1601824

Led by the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Brima Kargbo, a team of health officials are now on an on-the-spot visit to border crossing areas around the country.
The five man assessment mission to the eastern district of Kailahun was as a result of the re-emergence of the ebola disease in Liberia which borders with Sierra Leone, both on the south and east.
On arrival in Kailahun which could be described as one of the high risk districts, in the event of an epidemic, Dr Brima Kargbo noted that for the past year a single case has not been reported, and was very impressed over the level of preparedness and mechanisms put in place at border crossing points and the on-going community sensitization.

GENETICALLY modified mosquitoes are in the news for good reason: They may be our best hope for controlling the mosquito-borne Zika virus. The Food and Drug Administration has issued a preliminary finding of no significant environmental impact and is seeking public comment on a plan to test them in a field trial in the Florida Keys.

So you might think this will resolve the Zika crisis, which has caught the world’s attention because of an unexpected spike in microcephaly in babies born to women infected during pregnancy and in the incidence of the paralytic Guillain-Barré syndrome in Zika-infected adults.