Zika

Communicable disease scare grips people as Maharashtra reports 28 Zika cases this year

The Centre today issued an advisory to all states considering the rising Zika cases in Maharashtra, asking for 'constant vigil and focus on pregnant women who have tested positive for the infection'

In view of some cases of Zika virus reported from parts of Maharashtra, the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday issued an advisory to all states highlighting the need for maintaining a constant vigil over the situation in the country. States have been urged to focus on screening pregnant women for Zika virus and monitor the growth of foetus of expecting mothers who tested positive for the infection. Besides the advisory by Director General of Health Services Dr Atul Goel, the ministry also asked health facilities to identify a nodal officer to monitor and act to keep the premises free of Aedes mosquito infestation. Zika is an Aedes mosquito-borne viral disease like dengue and chikungunya. Though non-fatal, Zika is associated with microcephaly (a condition where the head is much smaller than expected) in babies born to affected pregnant women which makes it a cause of major concern. In 2024, till July 2, Pune has recorded six cases in Pune and one each in Kolhapur and Sangamner.

Jason Day will finally make it to an Olympics while a brother-and-sister combination are two of the other three golfers set to play for Australia at the Paris Games. Day was ranked world No. 1 in 2016 when he decided not to play at the Rio Olympics, saying he was concerned about going to Brazil with the Zika virus spreading while his wife was pregnant. He said earlier this year that he regretted not going. I had one of those spots, and at the time we were having kids, and then obviously there was that (Zika) scare, so I was kind of like a little bit freaked out about that," Day said at a PGA tournament in May. The Australian Olympic Committee said Friday that Min Woo Lee would join Day on the men's team while Minjee Lee and Hannah Green would form the women's team. The two Lees are brother and sister. Minjee Lee will become the first Australian golfer to compete at three Olympics, Green returns for her second Games while Min Woo Lee will join Day in making his Olympic debut. The f

Scientists have developed a simple-to-apply, needle-free vaccine patch that may protect people from the potentially deadly mosquito-borne Zika virus. The experimental vaccine developed by researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia elicited an effective immune response to Zika virus in mice. The vaccine, described in the journal Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids, uses the high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) patch developed by the University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia for delivery. Zika virus is a risk to people across the Pacific, Southeast Asia, India, Africa and South and Central America. We can change the way we combat Zika virus with the HD-MAP patch because it is an effective, pain-free, simple to apply, and easy to store vaccination method, said Danushka Wijesundara, a researcher at The University of Queensland. HD-MAP delivers the vaccine to immune cells beneath the skin's surface with thousands of tiny microprojections," Wijesundara said. In the pre-clini

The chief of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), Dr N K Arora said that the country should be "ready to fight" the Zika virus in case of an "outbreak"

Like dengue, yellow fever, and chikungunya, Zika also is a mosquito-borne infection. Watch this video to know all about the virus.

Test can differentiate between seven diseases and give results in 2 hrs

The Union Government has been extending the requisite technical and other support to the state government in this regard, said Bharati Pravin Pawar

Amid concerns of identifying a cluster of Zika virus in the capital city, five more people, including four women, have tested positive for infection in Kerala, taking the caseload to 28.

A 73-year-old woman tested positive for Zika virus in Kerala on Monday, taking the total number of infections in the state to 19.

Researchers have discovered that a common bacteria, wolbachia, can inhibit virus infections in mosquitoes

Centre says it was working along with the state governments, the local authorities and the municipal corporations for augmenting and strengthening their efforts in vector control, surveillance

The outbreak, which emerged in Brazil in 2015, has affected some 70 countries

"Zika is Zika until proven otherwise. We assume that all Zikas are equally dangerous," said Derek Gatherer, a biomedical expert at Lancaster University in Britain

Hyderabad-based vBharat Biotech has already completed pre-clinical studies on vaccine in animals and has sought government permission to begin human trials

Data show that of all Zika cases with laboratory evidence of infection, 62% were female

The true size of the effect will become clear only after full analysis of all 200 cases and 400 controls

For those who can afford private lab testing, the wait is much shorter, often less than a week

In India, the Zika virus was first found in Pune 64 years ago