Kerala Health Minister Veena George said that an action plan had been evolved to stifle the spread of Zika Virus in the state. A statewide alert has also been declared while the Centre rushed a team of experts to monitor the situation.
During a meeting of district medical officers (DMOs) on Friday, the health minister said intense preventive measures should be launched in areas and hospitals where the chances of Zika infection is high. The most important preventive measure is mosquito eradication and therefore, the minister said the coordination of various departments were required.
During the meeting it was said that ladies up to four months of their pregnancy were at the highest risk. The DMOs were instructed to test the serum samples of all females with fever in their earlier stages of pregnancy up to five months to rule out Zika. The mother, it was said, could pass on the virus to the baby, which can then cause serious cranial deformities in the child. A 24-year-old pregnant woman, in whom the virus was first detected, however had a normal delivery and her child has not been affected.
The minister assured the DMOs that the lab facilities to detect Zika would be improved. She said steps would be taken to test samples in Public Health Labs, too.
Massive awareness programmes will also be quickly rolled out. The Health Department said that Zika should be ruled out if a person develops any of the following symptoms: fever, headache, body pain and red lesions. Already Kerala observed 'Dry Day' as a preventive strategy against infectious diseases like Dengue. The plan is to intensify 'Dry Day' activities. The objective is to prevent water from accumulating near residential areas. Collected stagnant water is the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Besides the 14 cases identified on July 8, a 24-year-old woman in Thiruvananthapuram has also tested positive for Zika. This takes the total number of infected in Kerala to 15. Preventive measures were implemented in Nanthencode, where the woman lives. Nanthencode is an urban residential area that houses the Cliff House, the Chief Minister's official residence.
The minister said there was no need for fear. “We just have to be very careful,” Veena George said in a statement here. The virus is spread by Aedes mosquitoes. Though it is generally non-fatal, it could cause complications in pregnant women. The virus can also spread through sexual contact. “Women planning to get pregnant should avoid mosquito bites,” a Health Department release said.
Following the emergence of the Zika virus, the Centre rushed a team of experts to support the government in handling the situation.
Joint Secretary in the Union health ministry, Lav Agarwal, told reporters in New Delhi that "there are some Zika cases which have been reported from Kerala."
"To monitor the situation and to support the state government, a six-member team, comprising public health experts, vector-borne disease experts and clinicians from AIIMS has already been issued instructions to reach there and support the state government in terms of management of Zika there," he said.
