Even as the Covid pandemic continues to rage in Kerala,state Health Minister Veena George on Thursday said Zika virus cases have beendetected in the state.
As of now, the state has recorded 10 cases of Zika Virusinfections of which a new mother is also infected. A total of 19 samples from Thiruvananthapuram were sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune ofwhich 10 came out to be positive.
"This is the first time that Zika virus has beenreported in Kerala... a 24-year-old pregnant woman reported at a hospital inthe state capital district with fever, headache, and rashes last month. Thefirst results showed a mild positive sign of Zika virus and later from 19samples tested, 13 also showed Zika positive. All the samples have now beensent to NIV Pune," she said.
The woman, who is a Thiruvanathapuram native, is currentlyundergoing treatment at a private hospital. She was admitted to the hospital onJune 28 and has delivered a baby on July 7, however, now her condition is said tobe stable.
Notably, a week ago, her mother had also shown similarsymptoms including fever, joint pain, and skin rashes.
"The Health Department and the district authoritiesare seized of the issue and have taken measures by collecting samples of theAedes species mosquitoes, which transmits it to people through its bite. Allthe districts have been alerted about this and measures have started,"George added.
Amid the looming fear of the third wave, if Zika virus spreadrapidly in Kerala, it could be a major setback to the state in its fight againstcontagious Covid-19 infection.
In the last 10 days, the active caseload in Kerala hasincreased by almost 12,000.
What is Zika Virus? What are its symptoms?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), ZikaVirus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that was first reported in Uganda wayback in 1947 in monkeys.
Later the disease traveled to humans in 1952 in Ugandaand the United Republic of Tanzania. So far, Zika infections have beenreported in Africa, America, Asia, and the Pacific.
Significantly, a vast majority of people infected withZika does not develop severe symptoms but some of them complain of fever, rashes,muscle and joint pain, conjunctivitis, malaise, and headache. These symptomsusually last from 2-7 days in an infected person’s body.
As per the medical reports, Zika Virus is highly transmissiblebut it does not carry any potential threat like coronavirus. The Zika infectionis mainly spread through mosquito bites, especially the Aedes aegypti type thatcauses dengue, yellow fever, and chikungunya.
Despite not having any serious health effect, the Zika viruscan create complications for pregnant women as it can cause birth defects likemicrocephaly and other congenital abnormalities.