With little gudiance about caring for Zika patients, hospitals are planning on their own

As many of you know I have been advocating (unsuccessfully) for the designation of Zika Regional Referral Centers (ZRRFs).

Perhaps this article from STAT will convince policy makers that it is time to stage Zika hospital preparedness.

With little known about Zika virus, hospitals scramble to stay ahead

By Andrew Joseph  https://www.statnews.com/2016/08/17/hospitals-zika-virus-disease-birth-defects/

“The threat of Zika virus is reshaping operations at hospitals across the country, as medical teams rush to figure out how best to provide care for pregnant women with the disease and monitor and treat babies with related brain damage.

With scientists still trying to better understand the virus — and without any treatments available — hospitals have been forced to adapt to a changing Zika outbreak, particularly in states such as Florida, Texas, and New York that are at risk for local transmission or have seen large numbers of travel-related cases.

Hospitals say they have built up their diagnostic tools, started performing more regular ultrasounds for patients, and are keeping closer-than-usual watch on amniotic fluid levels and fetal heart rates. Social workers and physical, speech, and occupational therapists are preparing to work with babies born with Zika-associated defects, should they require their care.”

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“To bridge the gap, hospital officials say they have assigned doctors to keep up with the growing body of literature and confer with public health agencies. They are also bringing together obstetricians trained in high-risk pregnancies, pediatrician specialists, and virologists and other biomedical researchers.

Doctors say they don’t have good answers yet to the most pressing questions they get from pregnant patients, including if their fetuses are at risk throughout the pregnancy or only certain stages, and how likely their children are to have some sort of developmental problem.

Doctors also worry about what might happen to children who appear to be fine at birth. In the case of other congenital infections like cytomegalovirus, hearing and vision problems can emerge in apparently healthy children years down the road.”

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To read the full STAT article click on    https://www.statnews.com/2016/08/17/hospitals-zika-virus-disease-birth-defects/