Pune: The health department of Pune district at Maharashtra has been declared vulnerable to Zika virus after the district reported state’s first case of the infection. Pune district collector, Rajesh Deshmukh, has issued an order and declared 79 villages of the district being hypersensitive to the virus.
The health department has been informed about the virus risk and emergency measures have begun in these villages following the district collector’s order.
The order was issued on August 5 which stated that the 79 villages in Pune district will be kept under surveillance for Zika virus.
As of Saturday, the district administration had surveyed six villages, including Belasar, which reported the first Zika virus case on July 30. More than 100 blood samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV). Samples of anyone reported to have the flu are being sent to the National Institute of Virology for further testing.
It is to be noted that, Zika virus is transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes that also transmit dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.
The symptoms of the Zika Virus include fever, rash, and joint pain, headache, or malaise. The symptoms generally last for 2–14 days. The detection of the Zika virus is associated with many problems such as premature birth or miscarriage. A pregnant woman who is infected with the Zika virus can also cause infants to be born with congenital Zika syndrome.
This syndrome is associated with abnormalities like abnormally formed or absent brain structures, hydrocephalus, and neuronal migration disorders, etc. According to WHO, It is said that there is no treatment discovered for the Zika virus so far.
Currently, there are no vaccines or cure for Zika virus. The virus was first isolated in 1947 in Uganda’s zika forest.
Ms Kalinga