India: Zika virus outbreak continues in Rajasthan /update 2

Event

Health department officials reported eight additional cases of Zika virus in Rajasthan as of Saturday, October 20, bringing the total for the recent outbreak to 117. Most cases have been concentrated in the Shastri Nagar area of Jaipur. Public health measures, including fumigation campaigns, continue throughout the region.

Context

Zika is typically benign, though there are established links between the virus and microcephaly (a birth defect where infants are born with abnormally small heads), along with the fatal neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome. The virus is asymptomatic in 80 percent of cases, though symptoms may include fever, headache, rash, vomiting, and muscle and joint pain. The disease is transmitted via mosquito bites and sexual contact, including from asymptomatic people. 

Advice

Individuals in Rajasthan - in particular pregnant women, women who may become pregnant, and their partners - are advised to take measures to protect themselves from mosquito bites (e.g. wearing covering clothing, using insect repellent, sleeping in screened-in rooms), and eliminate mosquito breeding grounds (stagnant water, including rainwater collected in flower pots, tires, gutters, etc.).