One more tests positive for Zika virus, taking total cases to 19 in Kerala

A 73-year-old woman

tested positive for Zika virus in Kerala on Monday, taking the total number of infections in the state to 19.

Health Minister Veena George said the virus was detected in a sample sent to a Coimbatore-based laboratory by a private hospital where the woman was being treated.

At the same time, five samples sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) unit at Alappuzha tested negative for the virus, she said in a release.

On Sunday, three people, including a toddler, were foundinfected with Zika, following which the government arranged 2,100 test kits for testing facilitiesat four medical colleges in the state.

The testingfacilities have been arranged at Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Kozhikode Medical colleges and at NIV, Alappuzha.

The Minister on Sunday had said that hospitals had been instructed to test those patients, especially pregnant women, with fever, rashes and body pain.