Steps to stop Zika virus spread initiated: MP medical official

Measures were initiated immediately to contain the spread of Zika virus infection within a three km radius of areas where three cases were detected in Madhya Pradesh, a senior state medical official said Saturday.

Cases of Zika infection were found in Bhopal city and Sehore and Sironj districts in MP, said Dr B N Chouhan, Director, State Health Information, Education Communication Bureau.

Alert was sounded in these areas after the National Institute of Virology (NIV) at Pune confirmed these cases, he said.

"Teams are being deployed to contain the spread of the disease. These teams would search for larva of the mosquito and destroy it. Besides, ten teams have been constituted to collect samples of suspected Zika patients," he said.

The three patients diagnosed with Zika infection are minors and they are being treated, he said, without giving more details.

The Union Health Ministry had sent a team of experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and Emergency Medical Response (EMR) after suspected Zika cases were reported in the state, Dr Chouhan said.

Zika virus, which spreads through the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, causes fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain.

It is also considered harmful to pregnant women, as it can lead to microcephaly in newborn children, a condition in which a baby's head is significantly smaller than expected.

Zika virus disease is an emerging disease currently being reported by 86 countries worldwide.

In India, the first outbreak was reported in Ahmedabad in January-February 2017 and second outbreak in July, 2017 from Krishnagiri District in Tamil Nadu.