Zika virus: CDC offers tips while hospitals partner with local institutions

Amid increasing concerns about the spread of Zika virus in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a series of tips on what hospitals must do to prepare for the worst.

As of this week, the CDC has logged 2,517 total Zika cases throughout the nation. In preparation for the virus, providers and healthcare personnel should take several steps, according to a new guide (.pdf), including:

  • Recognize symptoms and clinical manifestations of the virus
  • Scrutinize all pregnant women for both symptoms of Zika and potential exposure, and be sure to update during every clinical encounter
  • Advise all pregnant patients how to prevent sexual transmission of the virus
  • Go over necessary preventive measures with all patients and families
  • Follow all standard patient care precautions, with particular attention to those pertaining to labor and delivery care
  • Post links to the CDC’s Zika site on hospitals’ internal and external sites
  • Communicate with local and state apartments about all possible cases

Hospitals, meanwhile, are taking other steps to contain the threat as well. Johns Hopkins Medicine, for example, this week opened the world’s first multidisciplinary Zika virus center. The Johns Hopkins Wilmer Zika Center features staff from a range of specialties including epidemiology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology, pediatrics, social work and maternal-fetal medicine.

Numerous other providers are both expanding their service offerings and partnering with other institutions, according to Hospitals & Health Networks. Houston’s Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women recently added an in-hospital Zika clinic. In Florida’s Miami-Dade County, the epicenter of stateside Zika transmission, Baptist Health South Florida has altered its urgent care centers to ease the testing process along with urging the local school system to help out by encouraging students to wear long sleeves and lifting a ban on bug repellent. “We believe it’s incumbent on every person in this community to prevent [Zika],” Chief Medical Officer Jack Ziffer, M.D., told H&HN. The CDC, meanwhile, approved $35 million in funds for emergency response in the Sunshine State this week, as well as $6.8 million for national public healthcare partners.