Zika virus guidelines issued to GPs

  Guidelines on the health implications of the Zika virus and the risks posed by travel have been issued to GPs across the UK. The BMA, along with Public Health England and the Royal College of GPs, has drawn up information on the mosquito-borne disease prevalent across South America and the Caribbean. The guidance aims to enable doctors to discuss the subject and advise patients on transmission and exposure risks to the virus, which has been linked to birth defects following infections in pregnant women. The virus generally causes only mild illness and is asymptomatic in 80 per cent of cases; there is no vaccine or cure for Zika. Messages for GPs in the guidance include: All travellers to areas with active Zika virus transmission should practise mosquito bite-avoidance measures day and night, and particularly during mid-morning and late afternoon to dusk, when the mosquito is most active Pregnant women planning to travel should consider avoiding areas with active Zika transmission. Where travel is unavoidable, they should use insect repellent and other bite-avoidance measures All pregnant women who have recently travelled to a country where active Zika transmission is reported should notify their primary care clinicians, obstetricians or midwives. Read the guidance
Source: BMA News - Category: UK Health Source Type: news