5-year-old girl tests positive for Zika virus in Karnataka

A 5-year-old girl in Karnataka has tested positive for the Zika virus and has been advised to take precautionary measures. The case has been confirmed by the national lab in Pune.

Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar, said, “This is the first case in the state and the government is monitoring the situation very carefully. Our department is well prepared to handle it”.

Earlier this month, a 67-year-old man was found infected with the Zika virus in Pune. The man, a resident of Nashik, was visiting Pune when he  came to Jahangir Hospital with fever, cough, joint pain and fatigue on November 16. He tested positive for the Zika virus in a private laboratory on November 18. The patient is clinically stable and has no complications, the health department had said.

An entomological survey of the Zika virus across Pune city is being done to mitigate future outbreaks.

Zika virus (ZIKV) disease (ZVD) is considered to be one of the significant public health diseases of concern after its outbreak in Brazil in 2016.

Caused by a virus transmitted primarily by the Aedes mosquito, which bites during the day, symptoms of this disease include mild fever, rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, as well as headache.

Since its discovery in the Zika forest in Uganda in 1947, several outbreaks of ZVD have been reported from Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands.