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Kerala reports 18 Zika virus cases — How does it spread & past outbreaks in India

Union health ministry sends 6-member team to Kerala as state reports 18 cases of Zika virus. Kerala says situation is being monitored closely and more testing labs will be opened.

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Imphal: The spread of Zika virus cases in Kerala has sparked concern, with the Union health ministry rushing a six-member team to assist the state.

Eighteen cases have been reported from the state so far, including a pregnant woman from Thiruvananthapuram who was diagnosed Thursday.

“We have started a vigorous vector control programme and the whole state was alerted. We are monitoring the situation closely and more testing labs will be opened,” the state health ministry said in a statement Friday.

What is Zika virus

Zika virus is a mosquito-borne disease. The disease spreads predominantly through the bite of an Aedes mosquito, but can also be sexually transmitted. This genus of mosquito is also responsible for Chikungunya, Dengue, and Yellow Fever.

According to the World Health Organization, Zika virus was first identified in monkeys in 1947.

It was later identified in humans in 1952 in Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania. The first outbreak — a sudden rise in the number of cases of the disease — occurred in the Federated States of Micronesia in 2007.

It takes three to 14 days to develop symptoms, which include fever, chills, rash, joint pain, and muscle pain.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “People usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika. Once a person has been infected with Zika, they are likely to be protected from future infections.”

However, pregnant women can transmit the disease to the fetus. Zika can cause a condition called microcephaly among newborns, a defect where a baby’s head is smaller than expected, compared to other children the same age.


Also read: UK biotech firm’s 750 mn GM mosquitoes will mate with females off Florida, sow a deadly gene


Outbreaks in India

The first case of Zika virus was reported in India in 2017 in Gujarat and was later found in Tamil Nadu.

Large outbreaks took place in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in late 2018, where 159 and 127 cases were reported respectively.

There is no cure or specific treatment for Zika virus yet, but vaccines are currently being developed.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has listed six different vaccines currently in development, using different methods, which are in various stages of trial. These include an mRNA, live attenuated, and a purified, inactivated virus vaccine.


Also read: Virus labs need more oversight, even if Covid lab leak theory isn’t found true


 

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