Zika Virus Surge In India: 67 People Test Positive, 3 With Co-Infections

Sudden Zika outbreak in ten cities of India amidst the COVID-19 pandemic alarms experts.

There is a sudden outbreak of the Zika virus in Indian states with the onset of monsoons. Experts are alarmed because the virus is now spreading in states where it was never detected before. Zika is cause by the Aedes mosquito, which is known to bite during the day. The disease spread when the mosquito bites an infected person. This spread is happening amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, which is making it more difficult to contain. The cities that have witnessed a serious rise in cases are Aligarh and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Amritsar, Pune, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Hyderabad, Ranchi and Thiruvananthapuram. Out of 1250 samples taken for testing, 67 people have tested positive recently including three co-infections. The areas experiencing Zika outbreaks are very densely populated and with the onset of heavy monsoon in India, areas like this are every vulnerable to mosquito borne diseases.

Symptoms Of Zika

Symptoms are generally mild and include fever, rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. Symptoms typically last for 2 7 days. A lot of people with Zika virus infection do not develop symptoms at first. Sometimes it takes time to develop. The patients who tested positive recently experienced the following symptoms:

• High fever
• Vomiting
• Severe breathlessness
• Seizure
• One case of mild microphally at birth

Reasons For Outbreak

Very year, Zika virus cases increase during the monsoon season. According to reports, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all the attention was given on coping with the coronavirus. Other sectors like the containment of Zika and dengue were given very less attention. Due to this, the breeding space of mosquitoes has increased after the monsoons in the country. And the spread of mosquito-borne diseases has gone out of control.

Previously, the spread of Zika virus was only in some states of India like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh. Every year, the virus is reaching new states where it had not spread before. This is dangerous especially with the other diseases that are looming amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.