Poorva Chavan
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Written By: Poorva Chavan | Updated : February 10, 2016 9:52 AM IST
The Zika virus has taken the America by the storm, Brazil being worst affected. The virus has spread rapidly and is also expected to spread to the Middle East soon. The WHO too has declared the outbreak as a public health emergency of international proportion.
The Zika vaccine and India
Currently, there is no vaccine against the virus and containing the spread of the virus is only preventive measure. Amidst the scare, an Indian company called Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad has claimed to have designed a vaccine against the virus. But, soon after the announcement, questions were raised about the vaccine and where the company sourced the strain of the vaccine and it was labelled as a hype. Dr Pradip Awate, State Surveillance Officer, Integrated Diseases Surveillance Programme (ISDP) said that even if the vaccine has been produced it only in its second phase and is yet to undergo further testing and other regulatory formalities. It will take another eight to ten months for the vaccine to hit the markets.
Do we need to be worried about the Zika virus?
Dr Awate explained that the Zika virus is not like the swine flu virus or the Ebola virus and is also not an air borne virus and hence does not spread easily. The disease is symptomatic and treating it is not difficult. The patient is not quarantined and is only treated for symptoms. The only concern is the mother to child transmission during the first trimester of pregnancy. He informed that the government is taking the preventive measures to contain the spread of the virus. Read: Zika virus may spread in India rapidly. Here s how you can prevent it
Measures taken by the government
Vector surveillance systems have been set up which include larval surveys that screens houses for larvae and pupae of the mosquito. The government is also trying to enhance the existing surveillance systems with the help of communities and hospitals.
Apart from this travellers are screened at every major airport and seaports in the country for the virus.
The government is also carrying out a surveillance of microcephaly--the condition linked to the virus in which the babies are born with small brains. They are using a software called mother & child tracking software in which the details of the mother from the time of conception to delivery are entered. However, the soft ware that we are currently using is yet to be fixed with an element of the head circumference which will help in identifying cases of microcephaly in India.
The government is also focussing on communicating the risk factors to citizens which involve educating people about how the virus spreads and how to prevent the infection.
It also has an Integrated Vector Management system in place which focuses on mosquito control in the state. The system includes a biological control which includes using other organisms like larvivorous fish or using toxin-producing bacteria to control mosquitoes. Chemical control includes fogging with pesticides and larvicides to kill the mosquitoes. The chemicals used for killing mosquitoes infected with Zika is the same as that used for mosquitoes with dengue because both the viruses are spread by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito.
Another important aspect of vector management is micro engineering which includes reducing the source of the mosquito. Water in stagnant or still bodies of lakes and ponds is made to flow to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.
