Health News

Barbados Reports Eight Cases Of The Zika Virus
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Ministry of Health says it is monitoring eight suspected cases of the Zika virus. At a press conference on Friday, Minister of Health John Boyce said samples will be sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Trinidad and Tobago for confirmatory testing and the

Swine Flu Death Rings Alarm Bell In Guyana
Guyana’s Dr. George Norton GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The Ministry of Public Health has received confirmation that a Guyanese patient who was hospitalized after displaying symptoms of swine flu has been infected with the H1N1 virus which causes the disease. The patient who was being treated

Slate Singles Out U.S. Virgin Islands For Its ‘Horrifying’ Treatment Of The Mentally Ill
CHARLOTTE AMALIE – Slate online magazine has singled out the U.S. Virgin Islands for its “horrifying” treatment of the mentally ill. Slate says that “25 percent of the prison population” in the territory is comprised of people who are mentally ill. An NPR report from 2007 noted that “the U.S.

Juan Luis Hospital ‘Fully Certified’ By CMS For Medicare and Medicaid Funding
Board Chairman Troy de Chabert-Schuster CHRISTIANSTED – For the first time in more than four years the Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center is free of the threat of decertification by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The news came January 1 and those in attendance

HEALTH COMMISH: Person With Zika Virus in P.R. Has No Known Travel History
Health Commissioner Juan Figueroa-Serville CHRISTIANSTED – The Virgin Islands Department of Health says that it is closely monitoring the first documented case of the Zika virus reported in neighboring Puerto Rico. Acting Health Commissioner Juan Figueroa-Serville said the person affected in San Juan is a person with no known travel
CDC Issues Travelers Warning For Zika Disease In Puerto Rico After One Case Confirmed
SAN JUAN – Health officials in Puerto Rico reported the island’s first case of Zika, a mosquito-borne virus recently linked to the rise of a serious neurological disorder among newborns in Brazil. “There is no reason for alarm, and the public should continue to take commonsense steps to avoid mosquito

Mexico Approves Dengue Vaccine; Hawaii Reports Outbreak Of Disease
HONOLULU — It’s peak tourism season in Hawaii, and the state’s Department of Health has issued a warning for visitors and residents: dengue fever is spreading on the Big Island. At least 150 people on Hawaii Island have been infected with the mosquito-borne virus. Experts say there’s no need

Children Most At Risk To Food-Borne Illnesses During The Holiday Season
WASHINGTON – More than 210,000 people suffer an episode of food-borne illness every day in the Americas, including the Caribbean. Half of those afflicted are children under five, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says. With that in mind, PAHO has recommended five “keys” to safer food for the holiday

Zika Disease With Significant Risks For Pregnant Women Reported In 11 Regional Countries
FORT-DE-FRANCE – Martinique is just the latest Caribbean country or territory in the Americas to report autochthonous, or local transmission of Zika virus, according to a Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Epidemiological report this week. This makes the island in the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea the 11th

BEACH ADVISORY: Two Beaches In St. Croix Fail; No Testing Done For STT or STJ
CHRISTIANSTED – Two beaches on St. Croix have been found to be unfit for swimming or fishing after water testing by the Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR). DPNR said that the ocean near Breezez restaurant/Club St. Croix condominiums in Golden Rock and the shores near Grapetree Bay on