GANDHINAGAR/AHMEDABAD: Gujarat, where the first case of Zika virus infection in India was detected in January last year, on Friday confirmed its first such infection, this year.
Principal Secretary and Health Commissioner of Gujarat Jayanti Ravi confirmed that so far, only one such case has been confirmed in the state and has been cured, before its report arrived.
She said the case was in Amraiwadi area of Ahmedabad and detected on October 22.
So far, samples of 257 pregnant women suffering from fever out of total 5183 checked have been taken and of the 135 reports received so far, all are negative.
Total 14 wards of Ahmedabad, including Amraiwadi where over seven lakh population lives, have been fogged and larva control has been done there.
She said that Zika virus has zero mortality, but precaution should be taken.
AMC Commissioner Vijay Nehra said that elaborate steps have been initiated to check the possible spread of the vector-borne virus.
He said there was no need to panic and steps should be taken as precaution.
Water should not be stored inside the houses.
The suspected case detected in Amraiwadi was cured before the positive report came, he added.
In AMC-run VS hospital at Ahmedabad, a 20-bed isolation ward has been put in a ready-to-use condition, as a precautionary measure.
Its doors and windows have been given net protection, as the virus is carried by mosquitoes.
Meanwhile, the AMC has started fogging and larva killing exercise in parts of old city, including Amraiwadi and Khokhara.
Routine checking of passengers coming from Rajasthan with suspected symptoms on various railway stations and bus stations, including the bordering Palanpur, were on.
Pamphlets regarding awareness were also being distributed.
Gujarat government had almost two weeks ago issued alerts in the wake of the rising cases of Zika Virus infections in Jaipur, the capital of neighbouring state of Rajasthan, where so far around 140 cases have been detected.
An official of the Health department said that it has been advised to keep an eye on the people coming from Rajasthan with symptoms of infection.
Medical teams are monitoring the situation at Airports, Railway stations and bus stands, for screening of the suspected cases.
''Hospitals have been advised to report any suspected case reaching them.
Special precaution has to be taken in case of infection to pregnant women,'' he said, adding that health departments of local bodies would also intensify anti mosquito and larva detection drive.
The first case of Zika virus infection in India was reported from Ahmedabad in January last year, while the second one was reported from Krishnagiri in South India, in July, 2017.
The disease is transmitted through the mosquito, which also causes Dengue and Chikungunya.
Its symptoms include fever, skin rashes, eye infection and pain in the body, including in joints.
It is specially harmful to pregnant women, as it can lead to microcephaly, a condition in which a newborn baby's head is significantly smaller than expected.
In Jaipur, the first case was detected last month, when an octogenarian woman was tested positive.