Twenty Five Suspected Cases of Zika

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While the World Health Organization has declared the ZIKA virus to be an international public health emergency, lab tests off island to confirm the presence of the virus have not happened.

In the span of just under a month 25 samples of suspected Zika cases have been recorded and no blood speciments have been sent to Honolulu for testing due to complications.

The Department of Health’s Epidemiologist, Scott Anesi explained this at a press conference today.

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Medical officer Dr. Robert T Chen from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention arrived last night at the invitation of DOH, to help the territory’s preparedness and response for potential Zika virus cases.

Dr. Chen explained that their main target population for detecting the Zika virus is pregnant women.

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Since his arrival last night, Dr. Chen observes that American Samoa is doing an excellent job with its public awareness campaign and being proactive in its preventative measures while trying to confirm the suspected cases.

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