The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has sent a team of experts to Maharashtra to support the state government in the management of cases of Zika virus.
Maharashtra is the second state in India to have detailed a confirmed case of Zika virus, after Kerala.
This multidisciplinary central group comprises a health expert from the office of the regional director in Pune, a gynecologist from Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi and an entomologist from the National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR), ICMR, New Delhi.
As reported by an official press statement, the high-level squad will coordinate with the Maharashtra health department. The team has been tasked with evaluating the situation and recommending necessary public health interventions to suppress the spread of Zika virus.
Zika in Maharashtra
Pune-based National Institute of Virology ensured the first case of Zika virus in Maharashtra on Sunday.
The sufferer, a 50-year-old lady from Belsar village, had fallen fever in July but healed later. None of her family members show indications of the disease as of yet.
Doctors familiar with the case stated the lady had a mixed virus as she had tested positive for Chikungunya.
Before Maharashtra, Kerala detailed as many as 63 sanguine cases of Zika virus in July of this year.
What is Zika virus?As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), Zika virus is carried by Aedes mosquitoes. It was first detected in humans in Uganda and Tanzania in 1952.
Indications generally include mild fever, rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, or headaches. Most symptoms can last for two-seven days. The virus can also be transmitted through sexual intercourse.
Experts have also resolved an association between Zika virus infection and adverse pregnancy and fetal outcomes.
Protective measures against Zika include wearing light-coloured clothing that curtains as much of the body as possible, using window screens and closed doors and applying mosquito repellent.
