The government has pledged $5 million to fight Zika. Monitoring of people infected with Zika and their location is clearly critical to target the most affected areas. So you would expect that proper testing has been put in place.
Now the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) offers free testing for Zika and related viruses like ChickV and dengue fever. However, they do not collect blood samples on site. You have to go to the public hospital, health clinic or private practice to get this done.
Blood samples can then be sent to CARPHA for testing. If you get tested for Zika at a private lab, they should inform CARPHA of any positive results to enable monitoring of any outbreaks by CARPHA and the Ministry of Health.
However, as my parents and I discovered when we came down with Zika-like symptoms and wanted to get tested, it is not that straightforward. We went to our usual doctors. None of these doctors offer blood sample collection. So they referred us to private labs to get blood samples taken and tested. They did not even mention the free testing at CARPHA although both my parents are pensioners. We were only made aware of free testing at a later date.
Of the two well-known private labs at St Clair Medical and Westshore, only one of them offers Zika testing. Why the other does not is a mystery. Zika testing at a private lab will set you back $300. If your doctor recommends testing for both Zika and Chickungunya, as symptoms are quite similar, this costs $800.
Spending that kind of money you would expect high quality. But you get limited seating, poor customer service and they even mixed up my test results. Worse, my doctor proceeded to misinterpret the test results, declaring me “Zika free.” It was only when I queried, as the results appeared positive, that this error was realised.
This is the farce that is Zika testing. At this rate, we will lose the fight against Zika.
A Granderson,
Diego Martin