1 in 8 Zika cases from Caribbean travel in UK originated from St. Lucia

FILE – In this Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016 file photo, a health workers stands in the Sambadrome spraying insecticide to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits the Zika virus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Sambadrome will be used for the Archery competition during the 2016 summer games. With the opening ceremony less than three months away, a Canadian professor has called for the Rio Olympics to be postponed or moved because of the Zika outbreak, warning the influx of visitors to Brazil will result in the avoidable birth of malformed babies. The IOC and World Health Organization disagree, saying Zika will not derail the games. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)

A study conducted by Public Health England has revealed that 1 in 7 cases of Zika detected from travel to the Caribbean and Latin America region originated in St. Lucia.

The study, conducted on October 12, ranked St. Lucia 3rd at 20 cases, behind Jamaica ranked first at 34 cases and Barbados ranked second with 32 cases.

Travel to South America and Central America accounted for 33 and 30 cases respectively.

Beginning in Brazil in 2015, the current epidemic was deemed a public health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO) earlier this year.

St. Lucia recorded its first case in April of this year.

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