Guatemala Zika Virus Updates For 2018

Guatemala Zika Virus Updates For 2018 there are no threats for Guatemala if Zika Virus Infections or new out breaks of Zika Virus reports by the Guatemala Ministry of Health.

Friends recently returned from a weekend in the Peten and we got some information regarding Zika and other insect-borne diseases. According to my best sources, who has contact with individuals involved in communicable disease reporting for Flores, there have been no confirmed cases of Zika transmission in Flores, including Tikal. Malaria, dengue, and chikungunya are also not a problem at present.

Bear in mind that this is an unofficial source of information (I have been unable to find any up-to-date reports on the Ministry of Health website), that we are at the end of the dry season when mosquitoes are much less prevalent than they will be in month or so, and that Zika reports tend to lag by weeks to months after the actual occurrence of the disease.

I’ve not found any information regarding Semuc Champey. Both Tikal and Semuc Champey are in the lower-elevation regions of Guatemala where Aedes aegypti can flourish, so even if Zika is not already present, it is likely to be there at some time in future.

The Zika virus belongs to the family Flaviviridae family and the genus Flavivirus, thus is related to the dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile viruses. Like other flaviviruses, Zika virus is enveloped and icosahedral and has a nonsegmented, single-stranded, 10-kilobase, positive-sense RNA genome. It is most closely related to the Spondweni virus and is one of the two known viruses in the Spondweni virus clade

According to PAHO (WHO): “There is a current outbreak of Zika Virus in Guatemala. Departments most affected include: Zacapa, Santa Rosa, Chiquimula, El Progreso and Quetzaltenango.” One should probably asume that there is at least some risk of Zika everywhere in Guatemala except at the highest elevations, above 2000 meters (where relatively few tourists venture).