Zika silently spreading across India, says study
The study, published in Frontiers of Microbiology, said there would be an increase in Zika cases during monsoon when vector-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya see a hike.
Published: 03rd July 2022 10:23 AM | Last Updated: 03rd July 2022 10:23 AM | A+A A-
NEW DELHI: Zika is silently spreading across almost all parts of India and in areas where it had never been reported earlier, thus establishing local transmission of the disease, according to scientists at the Indian Institute of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune.
The study, published in Frontiers of Microbiology, said there would be an increase in Zika cases during monsoon when vector-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya see a hike. According to the lead author, Dr Pragya Yadav, a senior scientist at ICMR-NIV, Pune, from 2017 to 2021, the presence of Zika has been reported in 16 states and union territories of India.
The study, like, a vector-borne diseases detected in newer states of India amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, said the virus, spread by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes and has been found in Delhi, Amritsar (Punjab), Aligarh and Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Jaipur and Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Pune (Maharashtra), Ranchi (Jharkhand) Hyderabad (Telangana) and Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala)- places which have a high population density.
Our study indicates the spread of the Zika virus to several states of India and an urgent need to strengthen its surveillance, a study, which was published recently, said. The study said continuous and enhanced surveillance for Zika along with dengue and chikungunya with emphasis on ante-natal screening is the need of the hour.
