Central team rushed to Maharashtra after Zika report

New Delhi: Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has rushed a multi-disciplinary team to Maharashtra to monitor a Zika virus case reported and assist the Uddhav Thackeray government in effective management in case of an outbreak amid an ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Pune city reported the Zika case, after neighbouring Kerala reported a few.

Maharashtra on Sunday reported its first-ever case of Zika virus infection. A 50-year-old woman from Purandar area in Pune district also tested positive for Chikungunya, said health officials on Sunday. The state officials have appealed to people to not panic and follow the safety precautions.

The first case of the Zika virus, amid the already continuing coronavirus pandemic, has prompted the Union Health Ministry to rush the three member expert team. It consists of a public health expert from the office of Regional Director, Pune; a gynaecologist from Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi; and an entomologist from National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR), ICMR, New Delhi.

The team of experts will take stock of the ground situation of Zika virus in the state and assess whether the Union Health Ministry's Action Plan for Zika Management is being implemented properly. It will also recommend necessary public health interventions for the management of Zika.

Several cases of fever were reported from Belsar village in Purandar tehsil from the beginning of July.

Out of five samples sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, for testing, three of them tested positive for Chikungunya.

Only Kerala had reported cases of Zika virus infection this year till the Pune case came to the fore. Kerala currently has 63 cases of Zika. Aedes mosquitoes spread Zika virus. They are also carriers of Dengue and Chikungunya.