Dominican official says first zika virus case confirmed in Haiti

Santo Domingo.- PAHO CommunicableDisease and Health Analysis director Marcos Espinal on Thursday said the reportof the first case of the zika virus has been confirmed in Haiti.

He said there are manypeople who will contract zika without knowing it.

"The zika virus isn’ta cause to go crazy. The diagnosis is for monitoring. The main thing here is tocontrol the vectors (mosquitoes). The virus shouldn’t cause alarm among thepopulation."

He said themain thing in this situation is to focus on prevention and education, trashcollection and control the vectors in the water.

Speaking in aconference at hotel Sheraton, the official said the disease can be confusingand recommends treating the disease like dengue, “because that one kills.”

In the conference, PublicHealth deputy minister Nelson Rodriguez on Thursday announced a meeting withspecialized companies, to which more than 1,000 doctors and nurses includingregional directors were invited across the country.