Kanpur administration is conducting mass testing in the district after 89 cases of Zika virus have been reported since October 23. Of the total infected people, 17 are children and one a pregnant woman.
Health teams are undertaking sanitisation programmes, including anti-larvae spraying and identifying fever patients, screening seriously ill people and pregnant women. Health officials have been asked to step up surveillance and ensure door-to-door sampling and testing.
The first case of the virus was reported in the city on October 23 when a warrant officer of the Indian Air Force tested positive for the infection. So far 12 IAF personnel have tested positive.
A total of 3,283 samples have been collected from the city and sent to the virology lab of KGMU in Lucknow and NIV in Pune for testing.
Total number of cases rose to 89 with 10 more people testing positive on Sunday. On Saturday, 13 people had tested positive.
Kanpur District Magistrate Vishakh G. said health teams are visiting patients at their homes and monitoring their vitals on a daily basis.
"A Zika control room has also been put in place, which is interacting with the patients daily. We appeal to everyone not to have stagnant water in their homes and to use mosquito nets," he said.
Zika virus: All you need to know
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, however, many people with Zika virus infection do not develop symptoms.
“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,” says the guideline of World Health Organisation.
The virus is also transmitted through sexual contact, transfusion of blood and blood products, and organ transplantation.
According to WHO, an increased risk of neurologic complications is associated with Zika virus infection in adults and children, including Guillain-Barré syndrome, neuropathy and myelitis.
The new virus is likely to pose a huge challenge for the health department as the state is still witnessing more than 10,000 daily COVID-19 cases. On Thursday, the state reported 13,772 cases with a test positivity rate of 10.83 per cent. As many as 142 deaths were also reported during the day.
