RESPONSE HIGHLIGHTS
UNICEF is working with partners to directly provide nonclinical care and support to 68 families with babies affected by Zika Congenital Syndrome in the Dominican Republic, and over 350 in Brazil.
Ministries of Health in the region such as in Honduras and Guatemala are reporting increased numbers of cases of Congenital ZIKV Syndrome. As a result of this UNICEF is working with partners to improve surveillance and detection mechanisms both for ZIKV and its consequences.
UNICEF has developed guidelines on qualitative and quantitative KAP and risk perception studies in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic to support evidence generation for the ZIKV Response.
UNICEF Honduras have carried out 7 field visits to families with children with microcephaly in: Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and Choluteca. These activities are framed under the implementation of actions focused on providing nonclinical care and support for children and families affected by ZIKV.
UNICEF El Salvador has launched its own U-Report platform to support the youth participation in its ZIKV Response.
Key messages around ZIKV prevention have been included as part of the package of key materials in the Emergency Response to floods in Peru.
1. SITUATION OVERVIEW
UNICEF works with epidemiological data from PAHO. The latest cumulative cases report (4 May 2017) can be found here, whilst the latest epidemiological update (27 April 2017) can be found here.
To date, 84 countries and territories around the world report continuing mosquito-borne transmission. 48 countries and territories in the Americas have confirmed autochthonous, vector-borne transmission of Zika virus disease since 2015, while five countries have reported sexually transmitted Zika cases.
The trend of reported cases in Central America continues to decline, with the exception of Guatemala. In Aruba, an upward trend in the number of suspected and confirmed cases persists since EW 29 of 2016. Following a declining trend in reported cases since EW 7 of 2016, starting from EW 1 of 2017, there has been an increasing trend of reported cases in South America mainly due to increases in the number of cases in Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.
To date, 26 countries and territories in the Americas have reported confirmed cases of congenital syndrome associated with Zika virus infection. In EW 15 and EW 17 of 2017, Ecuador and Barbados reported for the first time confirmed cases of congenital syndrome associated with Zika virus infection. In the last eight weeks (EW 10 to EW 17 of 2017), Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Grenada, Honduras, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Martinique, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States of America updated their number of cases of congenital syndrome associated with Zika virus infection.
In EW 17 of 2017, Barbados reported its first five cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) associated with Zika virus infection.