India: Three cases of Zika virus reported

Event

The Health Ministry of India has announced that three cases of the Zika virus have been reported in western Gujurat. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the cases were detected through routine blood surveillance in a hospital in Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujurat. Two of the cases were detected in February and November 2016, while a third was detected in January 2017.

Context

While Zika is usually relatively benign, links between the virus and the birth defect microcephaly (babies born with abnormally small heads) as well as the potentially fatal neurological disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) have been established. Symptoms can appear two to seven days after contracting the disease and include fever, headache (behind the eyes), conjunctivitis, rash, vomiting, and muscle and joint pain; however, the virus is asymptomatic in approximately 80 percent of cases. The disease is also transmissible via sexual intercourse.

Advice

Individuals present in India, in particular pregnant women and their partners, are advised to take measures to protect themselves from mosquito bites (e.g. by wearing covering clothing, using insect repellent, and sleeping in a screened-in or air conditioned room) and to eliminate possible mosquito breeding grounds (small pockets of fresh water, such as rain water that has collected in cans, bottles, tires, flower pots, clogged gutters, etc.).