New Delhi: Following the detection of the Zika virus and over 20 instances of people testing positive for it in Rajasthan, the Prime Minister’s Office has sought a comprehensive report from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. According to a News18 report, 29 people have tested positive for the virus in Rajasthan so far, and seven fresh cases were reported on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the health ministry issued a press release on Monday stating that a “few cases of the Zika virus disease” have been reported from Jaipur.
The virus was detected through the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) surveillance system. The situation is being reviewed by Union health minister J.P. Nadda and and monitored on a daily basis by the health secretary.
A high-level central team comprising seven members has been deputed to Jaipur for control and containment measures. The release said:
All suspect cases in the defined area and mosquito samples from this area are being tested. Additional testing kits are provided to the Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratories. The State Government has been supplied with IEC material prepared to create awareness about Zika virus disease and its prevention strategies. All pregnant mothers in the area are being monitored through NHM. Extensive surveillance and vector control measures are being taken up in the area as per protocol by the state government. The State Government has been supplied with IEC material prepared to create awareness about Zika Virus diseases and its prevention strategies.
In view of the virus outbreak in Rajasthan, Bihar has issued advisories to all the districts in the state as one of the afflicted in Jaipur is a resident of Bihar resident and had visited his home recently.
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The Zika virus is a mosquito-borne pathogen and is spread by the Aedes mosquitoes. The incubation period is about three days to a fortnight. Symptoms last for two to seven days and generally include fever, rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. At the same time, most people with the infection do not exhibit symptoms. If pregnant women are affected by the disease, it could lead to birth defects, such as microcephaly, in the child.
It is mainly transmitted through mosquito bites but can also be transmitted through pregnancy, blood and blood-product transfusion, organ transplantation and sexual contact. The infection can be confirmed through samples of bodily fluids such as blood and urine. However, at present, there is no treatment available.
While it is thought to be a common disease in Asia and Africa, there have been a surge of cases in the last five years or so. The first documented outbreak of Zika virus disease was in the island of Yap in the Western Pacific Ocean in 2007. The subsequent case was six years later in 2013, in French Polynesia and territories in the Pacific. More recently, the virus spread in Brazil in 2015, on to Central and South America by 2016. Zika infection cases were identified in Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
In July 2017, three Zika virus infection cases were confirmed in Ahmedabad by the WHO, six months after the virus had been detected by the Gujarat government. In the same month, a 27-year-old man tested positive for the virus in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu. However, both cases could be contained successfully thorugh thorough surveillance and vector management.
The 30 confirmed Zika cases identified in India thus far this year is a record. Since the infection has no known treatment, taking measures to prevent its onset, like avoiding travel to areas with Zika outbreaks, wearing clothes that cover more skin and using mosquito repellants seem to be common ways to stay protected.