Area hospitals revisit protocols in wake of Zika virus

Medford, Ore. — Local healthcare providers are revisiting protocols in the wake of two suspected cases of Zika virus in the region. At Providence Medical Center in Medford, administrators met Friday to discuss best practices for identifying and testing patients potentially at risk. They are now including a Zika questionnaire for all patients visiting the OBGYN, asking if they’ve visited any affected areas, and have symptoms.

“Zika virus can look a lot like the other viruses that are also prevalent in those areas,” Megan Stanley, RN says, “so first we’d be ruling out any other type of virus to see if we could distinguish if it’s something else we already know about before we go on to do Zika testing.”

Doctors are also asking if patients’ partners have gone to the affected areas, after the CDC announced the virus could be present in semen.