New Delhi: After the World Health Organisation (WHO) raised fears about an “explosive” spread of Zika, the Union health ministry on Friday moved to tackle a possible threat.
The ministry decided to get Zika virus testing kits within a week, and is set to prepare a travel advisory for those travelling to infected countries.
The virus has spread across 22 countries, mostly in Central and South America as a deadly strain affecting foetuses, thus posing a big risk to pregnant women.
The carrier for Zika virus, the Aedes Aegypti mosquito is also the carrier for dengue virus that claims hundreds of lives in India every year
The symptoms of Zika are also the same as for dengue infection – fever, headache and body pain and nausea.
Here are the main points:
-Health Minister JP Nadda held a high level meeting with senior officials from the health ministry and AIIMS to take stock of the situation in view of the recent cases of Zika virus being reported from some countries.
-Health ministry sources said there is no need of panic or fear as of now.
-However, as a precautionary measure, the health ministry will issue an advisory soon. The advisory will include guidelines for travellers going to Zika-hit countries.The ministry will discuss with MEA about the travel advisory
-A technical group will be formed to assess the Zika threat to India.
-Sources also said the government is likely to get Zika virus testing kits within a week.National Institute of Virology in Pune is already testing samples. Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) are expected to start testing in their centres by next week.So far, there have been no Zika positive cases
-The samples will be from suspected cases coming to hospitals. Samples that are tested negative for dengue & chikungunya will be again tested for Zika.
-Goverment is also considering asking medical clinics and hospitals to report suspected cases.
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