Newest Sarasota Zika victim speaks out

When Kimberly Martinez, the 53-year-old CEO of Bonitas International, returned from an 11-day trip to Tortola in the Virgin Islands, she started noticing some bizarre symptoms: a prickly rash, neck pain and a low-grade fever. 

“Normally I wouldn’t have thought too much about it, but of course with the Zika scare, I decided to Google the symptoms,” Martinez said. On Sunday, Aug. 21, when she realized the symptoms matched what she saw online, she went to the emergency room at Sarasota Memorial Hospital.

“As a responsible citizen, my goal was two-fold: I needed to learn if I had it, and learn about what to do to avoid transmission,” she said.

But according to Sarasota Memorial and Florida Department of Health representatives, she should have first called her primary physician.

When Martinez arrived at the hospital, staff sent her to its walk-in clinic area to see a physician. However, Martinez said she was told the hospital could not test for Zika, so she decided not to wait to see a doctor.

“If I’m not going to get tested, I’m not going to spend a couple hundred bucks just for a conversation with somebody,” said Martinez.

Martinez said the clinic gave her the number for the Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County on a Post-it note and she left. 

However, just because Zika virus tests are not yet available in hospitals, doesn’t mean they don’t screen for the virus, said Sarasota Memorial spokeswoman Kim Savage. If a patient comes in with concerns about the virus, clinicians will look to confirm symptoms, at which point they would take blood and notify the Health Department to come pick up the sample for Zika testing. 

Savage said staff are trained to refer anyone inquiring about a Zika test, or information about the virus itself, to the Health Department or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It’s important that people get the same consistent message,” Savage said.

Still, Martinez said she was disappointed in the initial response. She was expecting materials with more information or at least an explanation of what she should to do prevent spreading the virus to others. 

SMH doesn’t produce informational materials related to Zika, said Savage. That’s handled by the department of health or CDC.

“If she was asking specifically for a brochure or pamphlet, that might be why someone suggested the (health department),” Savage said.

When Martinez called the Health Department, she learned it only offers free testing for pregnant women from noon to 3 p.m. Tuesday, and 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday, at the William L. Little Health Human Services Center at 2200 Ringling Blvd. Martinez said that didn’t help in her situation, so she called her OB/GYN, Dr. Dianne Jardno, who arranged a test for Monday through a private lab.

By Thursday, the results were in — Martinez had Zika. The CDC was notified, and she self-quarantined during the day.

“The mosquitos that carry the virus are daytime biters,” Martinez said.

The virus is mostly transmitted via mosquito bites, though it can also be transmitted through sexual activity. Zika symptoms are typically mild, including low-grade fever, rashes and joint pain. When the virus is passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus, however, Zika can produce certain birth defects.

Including Martinez, there are currently 662 cases of Zika confirmed in Florida.

It turns out that even though it was a Sunday, Martinez should have first consulted Jardno.

The Florida Department of Health also advises that anyone with Zika-like symptoms first consult with his or her health care provider.

Sarasota Memorial organized a Zika task force a month ago, and met yesterday to consider options for enhancing education about Zika, Savage said. One idea was to create a web page with information about the virus.

“That content is being reviewed and should be available next week,” Savage said.

Today, Martinez returned to her house and found a red bag with packet of information on the Zika virus on her front-door handle. It was the type of paperwork she had been looking for all along, and it was from Sarasota County’s mosquito control department.

“This is what I would’ve expected from the hospital, not the mosquito management group,” she said.