Zika virus in India: Kerala alert after 14 cases reported,

 Zika virus in India: Kerala alert after 14 cases reported,

Health officials have announced a state of emergency in Kerala, India following the discovery of 14 cases of Zika virus.

A six-member team of specialists has also been sent to Kerala to deal with the outbreak of Zika virus in the province, the Union Health Department said on July 9, 2021.

Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Department of Health, during a media briefing, said, “Zika cases have been reported from Kerala. A six-member team of vector-borne pathologists, community health professionals, and nurses from AIIMS in Kerala have been deployed to treat the Zika virus. ”
Zika virus cases reported in Kerala

• The first case of Zika virus in Kerala was reported on July 8, 2021, when a 24-year-old pregnant woman complained of fever, headaches and rashes at the hospital in Tiruvananthapuram.

• On July 8, 2021, samples of 13 other cases of Zika virus in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) which reported confirmation of the Zika virus in Kerala.

• The total number of Zika viruses in Kerala stands at 14, including the first case of a 24-year-old pregnant woman.

What is the Zika virus?

• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Zika virus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that was first discovered in monkeys in Uganda in 1947. Later, the virus was discovered in humans in Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania in 1952.

• Zika virus is associated with a rare autoimmune disease known as Guillain-Barre syndrome and cerebral palsy in children.

• There is currently no cure for Zika virus.

How is the Zika virus spread?

• Zika virus is spread by the bite of an infected Aedes species (Aedes aegypti). Aedes mosquitoes often bite in the early morning and late night. This is the same type of mosquito that carries dengue, yellow fever, and chikunguniya.

• Zika virus can be transmitted from a pregnant woman to her fetus, or from a blood transfusion, or through sexual contact, or an organ transplant.
Zika virus: Symptoms

• It usually takes 3 to 14 days for symptoms to appear from the time of the bite. Most people do not show symptoms, one in five people who are infected show symptoms.

• Symptoms of Zika virus include fever, headache, rash, joint pain, malaise, conjunctivitis. 

Zika virus: An earlier outbreak in India

• India earlier in 2016-17 reported an outbreak of Zika virus in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.