After Rajasthan, Zika virus reaches Gujarat

After Rajasthan reported as many as 144 cases of Zika virus, the mosquito-borne virus has now been detected in Gujarat.

The first case was reported from Ahmedabad where a woman was tested positive For Zika.

“Only one case has been found so far. We are taking all precautions,” Gujarat commissioner of health Jayanti Ravi told AFP on Sunday.

In Rajasthan, 144 cases of Zika were detected since September.

Jaipur’s Shastri Nagar, Station Road area around Rajput Hostel and Vidyadhar Nagar are the infected areas.

“More than 280 teams of health department are conducting door-to-door survey and so far 96,000 houses have been surveyed. More than 2.44 lakh containers were checked and larvae were found in more than 55,000 containers, which were treated,” Hindustan Times quoted health department additional chief secretary Veenu Gupta as saying.

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Gupta also said that Zika virus infection is not fatal but pregnant women need to be cautious as there are chances of foetus being affected by the infection during the first trimester.

The first case of the mosquito-borne virus was reported in January 2017 in Gujarat.

Apart from the Zika virus, swine flu has also engulfed the state of Rajasthan. As many as 164 deaths were recorded that took place due to swine flu till September this year, which is the highest in the country.

According to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), as many as 4,484 positive swine flu cases surfaced across the country, out of which 1,652 cases of swine flu were recorded in Rajasthan. The number of deaths that took place in the country due to swine flu were 353.

Apart from Rajasthan, Maharashtra recorded 1,167 positive swine flu cases, out of which 101 lost their lives due to the virus. 786 cases were reported from Gujarat till September 30 this year, of which 30 people succumbed to the deadly virus.