The total number of Zika cases in the territory, to include pregnant women which the Department of Health now counts separately, skyrocketed to 833 cases, D.O.H. announced late Tuesday.
But the increase, according to the department’s director of public relations, was caused by a backlog of cases that were pending, which D.O.H. finally received.
“The significant increase in positive cases is primarily due to pending results dating back three weeks; the case increase is not specific to last week,” said Nykole Tyson. “As last weeks surveillance report indicated, there were a large number of pending results (261 on last report) that we received results back for and have updated the status in the database accordingly. The currently pending results reflects the most recent samples sent to CDC.”
According to the latest report, St. Thomas continues to lead with total confirmed cases of 556, followed by St. Croix with a total of 139 confirmed cases, and St. John with 52 confirmed cases. The number of pregnant women confirmed to be infected rose by 13 to 86 cases.
“The Department of Health is remains vigilant in responding to this outbreak and encourages all Virgin Islanders to utilize the tips and free services/resources we are providing to reduce Zika infection in the territory,” said D.O.H. Commissioner Dr. Michelle Davis.
The Zika virus has been linked to unusually small heads and brain damage in newborns — called microcephaly — in children born to infected mothers, as well as blindness, deafness, seizures and other congenital defects. In adults, the virus is linked to a form of temporary paralysis, called Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Tags: us virgin islands, zika
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