Centre issues Zika advisory to states amid detection of cases in Maha

The central government has issued an advisory to all state and Union Territory (UT) administrations to take steps in maintaining vigilance for cases of the Zika virus after detection of cases in Maharashtra.

The advisory, issued on Wednesday, asks states to maintain constant vigilance for Zika through screening of pregnant women and monitoring the growth of foetuses of expecting mothers who have tested positive for the virus.

States have been asked to promote awareness through precautionary information, education, and communication (IEC) messages on social media and other platforms to reduce panic among the community and intensify vector control activities in residential areas, workplaces, schools, construction sites, institutions, and health facilities.

 

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

Till July 2, eight cases have been reported from Maharashtra, including six from Pune and one case each from Kolhapur and Sangamner this year, the health ministry said.

Speaking on the high numbers in Maharashtra, Anurag Agrawal, head of the Koita Centre for Digital Health and dean of the Trivedi School of Biosciences, Ashoka University, said that the appearance of the Zika virus in densely populated regions where its vector, the mosquito, is abundantly present is a serious event in terms of public health implications.

The advisory has also asked states to immediately report any detected cases to the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and the National Centre for Vector Borne Diseases Control (NCVBDC).

Zika is a non-fatal, Aedes mosquito-borne viral disease like dengue and chikungunya. However, the virus is associated with microcephaly (reduced head size) of babies born to affected pregnant women.

“The surveillance must include not only case detection amongst pregnant women but also vector surveillance. Genome sequencing will offer important insights into the spread and must be taken up by networks capable of pathogen genomic surveillance such as the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG),” Agrawal said.

India reported its first Zika case from Gujarat in 2016. Since then, many other states such as Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Karnataka have reported cases subsequently.

“Though it is reported to be associated with microcephaly, no report of any Zika-associated microcephaly has been reported in the country since 2016,” the ministry said.