Union Health Ministry has rushed a high level multi-disciplinary medical team to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh where a case of Zika Virus Disease has been reported. A 57-year-old a warrant officer in the Indian Air Force was diagnosed with the disease which was confirmed on Saturday after the test results of his blood samples were declared positive for the Zika virus at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune.
According to a health ministry statement, the multidisciplinary team comprising an entomologist, public health specialists and gynaecologist drawn from National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, National Center for Disease Control and Dr. RML Hospital, New Delhi has been deployed by Union Health Ministry to assist the State Health authorities for control and containment measures of the Zika virus disease.
The team will work closely with the State Health Department, take stock of the situation on the ground and assess whether the Union Health Ministry’s Action Plan for Zika management is being implemented. The team will also recommend necessary public health interventions for management of Zika in Uttar Pradesh.
What is Zica virus disease?
Zika virus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in monkeys. It was later identified in humans in 1952 in Uganda and Tanzania.
. Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes, which bite during the day.
. Symptoms are generally mild and include fever, rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. Symptoms typically last for 2–7 days.
. Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause infants to be born with microcephaly and other congenital malformations, known as congenital Zika syndrome. Infection with Zika virus is also associated with other complications of pregnancy including preterm birth and miscarriage.
. An increased risk of neurologic complications is also associated with Zika virus infection in adults and children, including Guillain-Barré syndrome, neuropathy and myelitis.
