UP reports first case of Zika virus; centre rushes multidisciplinary team

 

According to the state health department, a 57-year-old warrant officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF) was diagnosed with the infection on Saturday, the first in Kanpur. The IAF officer was down with fever for the past several days and was admitted to the Air Force Hospital in the district.

Following mysterious symptoms in the case, the blood sample was collected and sent to Pune for the proper examination which confirmed that the patient was Zika virus-positive.

 

 

 

The multidisciplinary team comprising of an entomologist, public health specialists, and gynecologist drawn from the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, National Center for Disease Control, and Dr. RML Hospital, New Delhi has been deployed to assist the State Health authorities for control and containment measures of the Zika virus disease.

 

 

The team shall work closely with the State Health Department, take stock of the situation on the ground, and assess whether the Union Health Ministry’s Action Plan for Zika Management is being implemented. The team will also recommend necessary public health interventions for the management of Zika in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Twenty-two more samples of persons who came in contact with the patient and those who have the same symptoms have also been sent for examination.

 

 

The Zika virus spreads through the bite of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which is also a carrier of Dengue and Chikungunya. Its most common symptoms are fever, body aches, rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise, or headache. Symptoms generally last for two to seven days and most people infected do not develop symptoms, according to the World Health Organization.

In August, Maharashtra had reported its first case of Zika virus infection. Prior to this, only Kerala had reported cases of Zika virus infection this year.
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