Zika Virus: 5-year-old child in Karnataka is first to test positive

A 5-year-old girl in Karnataka tested positive for the Zika virus, and precautions have been suggested, according to a Pune lab report. Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar, said, “This is the first case in the state and the government is monitoring the situation very carefully. Our department is well prepared to handle it”.

According to the health authority, a 67-year-old male was discovered to have the Zika virus earlier this month in Pune’s Bavdhan neighbourhood. The guy, who calls Nashik home, arrived in Pune on November 6. He arrived at Jahangir Hospital on November 16 with a fever, cough, joint discomfort, and exhaustion. On November 18, a private laboratory made the Zika virus diagnosis. According to the health department, the patient is clinically stable and has no issues.

The same month, Maharashtra Health Department said, “A case of Zika virus reported in Maharashtra. A 67-year-old man patient was found in Bavdhan Pune city, he is originally from Nashik and had come to Pune on November 6, earlier on October 22 he had travelled to Surat. On November 30 National Institute of Virology had confirmed the Zika virus infection in him. Currently, the patient is clinically stable and has no complications.”

To prevent further outbreaks, an entomological survey of the Zika virus in Pune city is being conducted. Following the 2016 epidemic in Brazil, the Zika virus disease (ZVD) is regarded as one of the major public health issues of concern.
This illness, which is brought on by a virus largely spread by the daytime-biting Aedes mosquito, has moderate fever, rashes, conjunctivitis, soreness in the muscles and joints, malaise, and headaches as symptoms.

The increasing prevalence of microcephaly, congenital Zika disease, and Guillain-Barre syndrome has been linked to a mosquito-borne flavivirus. Numerous ZVD outbreaks have been documented in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands since the disease was first identified in the Zika forest in Uganda in 1947.