15 Mar 2016

362 suspected Zika cases in American Samoa

4:45 pm on 15 March 2016

The latest Zika report in American Samoa shows there are now 362 suspected cases of the virus in the territory.

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Photo: AFP

Out of 70 blood samples sent off island for testing since the outbreak of the Zika virus, 14 are confirmed to have Zika and six of these confirmed cases are pregnant women.

Zika protection kits from the Centre for Disease Control have been distributed to 25 pregnant women so far.

CDC's Medical Officer for the Pacific Richard Brostrom said they had developed a strong testing regime but prevention was key.

"Since there is not a treatment for Zika, there is not a vaccine for Zika, your clinical staff are emphasising prevention in paediatrics and obstetrics. We know the Zika kits that came out earlier this week. So we are trying to tie that together, that prevention side with the clinical outreach portion," he said.

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