Zika Virus

A 70-year-old man from Gandhinagar city contracted Zika virus infection following which he was treated in a hospital and discharged, officials said on Thursday. While the report confirming that the man was infected with the Zika virus came four days ago, he was sent home from the hospital a week ago after full recovery, said the Gujarat Health Department in a statement. Zika virus is transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. The symptoms include rash, fever, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain. Zika infection during pregnancy can cause infants to be born with microcephaly and other congenital malformations as well as preterm birth and miscarriage. On October 24, the septuagenarian was admitted to a hospital in Gandhinagar after he had a cold, fever and joint pain. He was referred to an Ahmedabad-based private hospital, where doctors sent his body fluid samples to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune over the suspicion that it could be a case of Zika infection, said t

Communicable disease scare grips people as Maharashtra reports 28 Zika cases this year

Mosquito bites are a responsible for causing many life-threatening diseases such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, so it becomes imperative to safeguard yourself and others around you

Zika virus typically results in mild symptoms like fever, rash, and joint pain, however, its neurological complications can be severe and lasting

The Centre today issued an advisory to all states considering the rising Zika cases in Maharashtra, asking for 'constant vigil and focus on pregnant women who have tested positive for the infection'

"Health facilities must identify a nodal officer to monitor and act to keep the premises free of Aedes mosquitoes," the advisory stated

In view of some cases of Zika virus reported from parts of Maharashtra, the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday issued an advisory to all states highlighting the need for maintaining a constant vigil over the situation in the country. States have been urged to focus on screening pregnant women for Zika virus and monitor the growth of foetus of expecting mothers who tested positive for the infection. Besides the advisory by Director General of Health Services Dr Atul Goel, the ministry also asked health facilities to identify a nodal officer to monitor and act to keep the premises free of Aedes mosquito infestation. Zika is an Aedes mosquito-borne viral disease like dengue and chikungunya. Though non-fatal, Zika is associated with microcephaly (a condition where the head is much smaller than expected) in babies born to affected pregnant women which makes it a cause of major concern. In 2024, till July 2, Pune has recorded six cases in Pune and one each in Kolhapur and Sangamner.

The Kerala health department issued an alert as 14 new cases of Zika virus were identified in the state, including a 24-year-old pregnant woman

Scientists have developed a simple-to-apply, needle-free vaccine patch that may protect people from the potentially deadly mosquito-borne Zika virus. The experimental vaccine developed by researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia elicited an effective immune response to Zika virus in mice. The vaccine, described in the journal Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids, uses the high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) patch developed by the University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia for delivery. Zika virus is a risk to people across the Pacific, Southeast Asia, India, Africa and South and Central America. We can change the way we combat Zika virus with the HD-MAP patch because it is an effective, pain-free, simple to apply, and easy to store vaccination method, said Danushka Wijesundara, a researcher at The University of Queensland. HD-MAP delivers the vaccine to immune cells beneath the skin's surface with thousands of tiny microprojections," Wijesundara said. In the pre-clini

The state's health department said in a release that the elderly and children should maintain caution and avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes

Zika virus has been detected in a mosquito species in Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka following which blood samples of people with high fever have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) for examination, officials said on Thursday. The virus was detected in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes after samples from six waterbodies in Chikkaballapura were collected and sent for examination in August last week, they said. Following confirmation of the presence of Zika virus in the mosquito samples collected from Talakayalabetta in the district, an alert was issued in a five kilometre radius of the area as a precautionary measure to contain the breeding. The officials stressed that the virus has been detected only in mosquito samples collected from the Talakayalabetta waterbody and no cases have been detected in people yet. Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said no person has been tested positive for Zika virus. "The virus has been detected in a mosquito pool. This repor

The chief of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), Dr N K Arora said that the country should be "ready to fight" the Zika virus in case of an "outbreak"

Bharat Biotech's Zikavac now in clinical trial; labs look to offer Zika virus test

According to a Pune lab report, a 5-year-old girl in Karnataka has tested positive for the Zika virus and has been advised to take precautionary measures

Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar on Monday said a five-year-old girl from Raichur district has become the first confirmed Zika virus case in the state. The Minister also made it clear that there is no need for any worry or concern, as the government is taking all the necessary measures, and will also be issuing a set of guidelines. "We have got a lab report from Pune about the confirmed case of Zika virus. On December 5, it was processed and reported on December 8. Three specimens were sent out of which two were negative and one was positive, which is a five-year-old-girl. We are keeping a vigil," Sudhakar said in response to a question on the Zika virus case in Raichur. Speaking to reporters here, he pointed out that a few months ago Zika virus cases were found in Kerala, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. "This is the first confirmed case in Karnataka. It came to light when the serum was subjected to Dengue and Chikungunya test. Usually 10 per cent of such samples are sent to Pu

A 67-year-old man was found infected with Zika virus in Pune city of Maharashtra, but is now fully recovered and exhibiting no symptoms of the disease, the state health department said on Friday. The man, who hails from Nashik and had a travel history to Surat in neighbouring Gujarat, was found infected last month, it said in a bulletin. "He had come to Bavdhan area in Pune on November 6, but had gone to Surat later. On November 16, he visited Jehangir Hospital (in Pune) for treatment of fever, cough, joint-pain and fatigue, and tests conducted in a private laboratory on November 18 confirmed he was infected with the virus," it said. Further tests at the premier National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune again confirmed the infection, it added. "In the backdrop (of the infection), the health department has intensified the epidemiological survey in Pune city and Bavdhan area," it said. In July this year, a seven-year-old girl was found infected with Zika virus in Palghar district

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a vector-borne flavivirus which is transmitted by the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes, mainly Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.

Prior to this, the first-ever Zika virus case in the state was reported in Pune in July 2021.

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