Zika virus (ZIKV) infection outbreak in the State has been brought under control, an official statement issued by Health Minister Veena George said here on Saturday.
No cases of ZIKV infection have been reported from any part of the State since the past one week or more. Of the total 66 cases of ZIKV infection reported in the State, 62 were from the capital district, two were from Ernakulam one each were reported from Kottayam and Kollam districts. All cases had an epidemiological link to Thiruvananthapuram
None of those who tested positive are under treatment now and none of those who tested positive for ZIKV developed serious disease.
The fact that the State health administration could control the outbreak and contain it mostly to one district is a major achievement, Ms. George’s statement said.
Also, the intensive vector control drive launched by the Health Department with the help of local self government and Revenue Departments to control ZIKV infection also helped the control of dengue and chikungunya
As part of the widespread ZIKV surveillance, 9,18,753 people were screened . Health workers visited 1,569 persons who had reported fever with body ache and rashes and the samples of 632 who were suspected to have Zika infection were tested out of whom 66 tested positive.
As ZIKV infection affects pregnant women adversely and poses the potential risk of congenital microcephaly in the infants born to them, all pregnant women with fever were screened.
Of the 4,252 pregnant women screened for ZIKV, six women tested positive. Only one newborn had to be kept under surveillance but the infant did not have any congenital issues, the statement said.
It was on July 8 that the first case of ZIKV was confirmed in the State in a 24-year-old pregnant woman at Parassala in the capital district.
About 13 health workers in a private hospital in the city had also tested positive for ZIKV
Alongside intensive vector control measures, diagnostic facilities to detect ZIKV were arranged in all three government medical colleges, State Public Health lab and NIV Alappuzha
While the current outbreak has been brought under control, intermittent rains and the perennial presence of Aedes vector species meant that the vigil would have to be continued, the Health Department said.
