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By APD writer Rishika Chauhan
NEW DELHI, May 28 (APD) - So far, three cases of mosquito-borne disease, Zika have been reported from India, World Health organization (WHO) said on Saturday.
Though the WHO termed the cases “low-level transmission” meaning that the risk of spread was low, however it warned that new cases might come up in the coming years.
All the three cases were detected in Bapunagar area of the province, Gujarat. A 64-year-old man, a 34-year-old new mother and a 22-year-old pregnant woman, were the patients of Zika. While the first infection was detected in February last year, the second was observed in November and the third in January.
WHO got to know about the cases during random monitoring and surveillance at the BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad.
Speaking to the media, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan who is the director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research said, “We were concerned about the babies. Luckily, both mothers and the babies are fine. The third case was of a man with fever, who tested negative for both dengue and chikungunya but positive for Zika.”
“We had also expanded the mosquito testing network after the cases were reported but luckily none of the mosquito pools tested positive for the virus. We will continue the surveillance,” Dr. Swaminathan added.
Shankar Chaudhary, the Gujarat minister of state for health informed the media, “The situation is under control. All the necessary steps have been taken and since then no fresh cases have been reported.”
Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same mosquito that transmits dengue and chikungunya, also transmits the Zika virus. If the patient is pregnant, Zika can cause birth defects in babies. Zika can also cause a neurological disorder that causes paralysis. So far, there is no treatment or vaccine for the Zika infection.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
