Kerala’s Covid-19 positivity rate crossed 11 per cent on Monday after 9,931 new infections were recorded in the last 24 hours, taking the caseload to 3,170,868. Fifty-eight more people succumbed to the viral disease in the said period, taking the toll to 15,408.
Adding more to concern, the state also reported infections from Zika Virus as Monday’s cases include a 41-year-old woman from Kattaikonam, Thiruvananthapuram and a 31-year-old doctor from Kumarapuram, George said in a release. The virus was confirmed in tests carried out at the Virology Lab of the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, she said, adding the health of all those infected is satisfactory at present.
Kerala, which is already grappling with an increased spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), saw the outbreak of the Zika virus on July 8 when 14 people were found to be infected. These included a 24-year-old pregnant woman from Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram. Later, she gave birth and both the mother and the baby were stable, Hindustan Times reported.
Five cases of the deadly virus were reported on Saturday, while two more were found to be infected on Friday. Earlier, health minister Veena George on Friday held a meeting with state revenue minister K Rajan on July 16 and the two decided to work together to prevent the spread of Zika virus along with other communicable diseases. The first case of the Zika virus was reported in Kerala on 9 July. A high alert has been flagged in all districts regarding the mosquito-borne virus. According to top experts, Zika is a virus of ‘grave concern’.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Dr Naresh Gupta, director-professor of Delhi’s Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) said, “Zika virus isn’t a pandemic but Zika virus is of grave concern as compared to Coronavirus. Coronavirus is spread across individuals in huge numbers but with a mortality rate of 0.2 percent. Most of them tend to settle down and the recovery rate in our own country is also close to 98 percent, despite all these big numbers.”
“Zika is a virus of grave concern. Zika virus is something that is occurring in local outbreaks. So, I think if it’s occurring in a given state or place, sentinel surveillance must have picked up these cases,” he said.
Dr Naresh also warned, “Whenever there is an outbreak, they are usually in big numbers. It isn’t a pandemic. However, one must not underestimate such figures. Even in the case of the Coronavirus, there are three thousand varieties that occur in the bats. So, if you look at other viruses, there are thousands of viruses. Most of these viruses will keep coming and going whenever we have fear.”
Further, he explained, “This is a known virus. Maybe there is an unknown variant of this virus. We need sentinel surveillance, which means if you know that you have a disease coming up about which we were/are aware of some of the symptoms, that’s where detailed lab analysis becomes very important. Then you can identify the different viruses. I am sure that, once they have done the surveillances and picked up these cases with wider testing, they would be able to control it.”
Zika virus is most often spread to people through mosquito bites, primarily in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Most people infected with the Zika virus have no signs and symptoms. Some people have mild fever, rash and muscle pain. In rare cases, the Zika virus may cause brain or nervous system complications, such as Guillain-Barre syndrome, even in people who never show symptoms of infection. Infection with the Zika virus is also called Zika, Zika fever or Zika virus disease.
Women who are infected with the Zika virus during pregnancy have an increased risk of miscarriage. Zika virus infection during pregnancy also increases the risk of serious birth defects in infants, including a potentially fatal brain condition called microcephaly.
As many as 4 out of 5 people infected with the Zika virus have no signs or symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they usually begin two to 14 days after a person is bitten by an infected mosquito. Symptoms usually last about a week, and most people recover fully.
Signs and symptoms of the Zika virus most commonly include:
- Mild fever
- Rash
- Joint pain, particularly in the hands or feet
- Red eyes (conjunctivitis)
Other signs and symptoms may include:
- Muscle pain
- Headache
- Eye pain
- Fatigue or a general feeling of discomfort
- Abdominal pain
