A case of Zika virus, transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, has been reported for the primary time in Kerala. Samples of 13 individuals, suspected to be optimistic for Zika, have been despatched to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for affirmation.
The confirmed case of the virus is a 24-year-old pregnant girl from Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram district who’s beneath therapy at a non-public hospital, stated an announcement from the well being division.
The girl sought therapy on the hospital on June 28 with signs of fever, headache, and crimson spots. A preliminary examination on the hospital indicated a slight optimistic for Zika. The girl’s situation is steady and he or she delivered a child on July 7. While she has no historical past of journey exterior the state, her home is situated near the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. Every week in the past, her mom had exhibited comparable signs.
The well being division stated that when Zika virus was confirmed within the 24-year-old, officers of district surveillance, vector management unit, and state entomology unit visited Parassala and initiated measures to fight the unfold of the illness. Samples of Aedes mosquito have been collected from the realm and have been despatched for PCR testing. An alert has been issued to all districts concerning the identical.
What is Zika?
Zika is a viral an infection, unfold by mosquitoes. The vector is the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which additionally spreads dengue and chikungunya. Additionally, contaminated individuals can transmit Zika sexually. First recognized in Uganda in 1947 in monkeys, Zika was detected in people 5 years later. Sporadic circumstances have been reported all through the world because the Sixties, however the first outbreak occurred solely in 2007 within the Island of Yap within the Pacific. In 2015, a serious outbreak in Brazil led to the revelation that Zika will be related to microcephaly, a situation during which infants are born with small and underdeveloped brains.
How harmful is Zika?
Fears round Zika primarily contain microcephaly, particularly when pregnant girls are contaminated. Generally, the virus will not be thought-about harmful to anybody aside from pregnant girls. Some nations which have had a Zika outbreak, together with Brazil, reported a steep enhance in Guillain-Barré syndrome — a neurological dysfunction that might result in paralysis and loss of life, in response to WHO. In 2017, following a research on Brazil’s confirmed circumstances, the US National Institutes of Health research estimated the fatality price at 8.3%.
Had Zika circumstances not been reported in India earlier, too?
In 2018, 80 circumstances of the Zika virus have been detected in Jaipur. This was India’s first giant outbreak of the virus.
In 2017, the WHO had issued a report that stated: “On 15 May 2017, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare-Government of India (MoHFW) reported three laboratory-confirmed cases of Zika virus disease in Bapunagar area, Ahmedabad District, Gujarat State, India.”
In July 2017, the Health Ministry stated in reply to a query in Parliament that there had been 4 Zika circumstances till then — the fourth case had been reported from Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu.