18th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 3-5, 2019 • Chicago, IL
2/27/2017 | 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM | Zika: The Latest Threat to the Islands | Hanover B
Zika: The Latest Threat to the Islands
ZIKA: THE LATEST THREAT TO THE ISLANDS!
The spread of the Zika virus, from the South Pacific to South America, then entering the United States and its territories, has created a Public Health catastrophe involving pregnant women and their babies. In addition to the more obvious outcome of microcephaly, less subtle outcomes such as hearing loss and development delays have been identified in babies infected by the virus. The seriousness of the situation prompted the CDC to issue, on August 26, 2016, “Interim Guidance for the Evaluation and Management of Infants with Possible Zika Virus Infection.” As of September 22, 2016, the CDC reported 808 identified Zika pregnancies in the U.S. and District of Columbia—but 1,490 cases in the U.S. Territories! Aware of the devastation caused by spread of measles across the islands a century ago, and the spread of rubella decades ago, and aware of the increased identification in Zika pregnancies, the EHDI programs in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and American S?moa adopted a protocol to ensure careful newborn hearing screening of infants infected with Zika and added Zika as a risk factor for monitoring the infants for possible late onset or progressive hearing loss. In these island communities with limited resources for providing services to any child with special needs, the potential for a large population of newborns with significant habilitative needs represents a crisis of catastrophic proportions. Discussions with CDC personnel in October 2016 helped finalize the protocol. This presentation provides one of the first reports of the results of hearing screening and audiological findings in this population with suggestions for other localities that may have similar needs.
- To learn the impact of Zika on hearing
- To know the results of initial hearing screening and evalutions of Zika infected pregnances
- To assist in developing appropriate protocols
Presentation:
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Handouts:
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Transcripts:
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Presenters/Authors
Wendy Switalski
(), Center on Disability Studies, wendy@audiologysystems.com;
For the past nine years, Dr. Switalski has provided dedicated pediatric audiological services to the children and people of American Samoa. With a long history as a private practice audiologist and a more recent history of industrial audiology, she has maintained a fierce dedication to serving the underserved - whether in American Samoa or the West Bank. Her humanitarian audiological contributions have been robust!
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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Nonfinancial -