The presence of Zika virus was confirmed in three more persons including a one-year-old child in the district on Sunday. Their samples were confirmed at a lab in Coimbatore. So far, 18 cases of Zika virus have been reported from the district, the first being that of a pregnant woman who was diagnosed on Thursday. This was followed by 13 more cases among healthcare workers in a private hospital the next day.
Meanwhile, the health department has set up Zika testing facilities at medical college hospitals (MCH) in Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Thrissur and Kozhikode, after procuring 2,100 testing kits from the National Institute of Virology, Pune. The Thiruvananthapuram MCH received 500 triplex kits that can detect dengue, chikungunya, and Zika virus, besides 500 singleplex kits that can be used only for detecting Zika virus. Alappuzha NIV received 500 singleplex kits and Thrissur and Kozhikode MCHs received 300 singleplex kits each.
