The number of cases of infection from the Zika virus in Rajasthan rose to 100 on Wednesday, prompting the Centre to send a team from the Indian Council of Medical Research to accelerate measures to stop its spread. An unidentified official of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare told PTI that 20 new cases were identified in Jaipur and two neighbouring districts on Wednesday.
“A team of experts from the Indian Council of Medical Research has reached Jaipur to change the insecticides which are being used in the city to kill mosquitoes that spread Zika, dengue, and chikungunya viruses as a part of the integrated mosquito management programme,” the official said.
The Zika virus has been found in some samples from the Sindhi Camp area in Jaipur, but the pathogen is most prevalent in the Shastri Nagar area, where authorities have carried out fogging and other anti-larvae activities.
On Tuesday, the Centre had ordered the National Centre for Disease Control to monitor Zika virus cases in Rajasthan on a daily basis.
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda on Tuesday conducted a high-level meeting to examine the measures being taken for the prevention and control of the virus and seasonal influenza across the country. The minister said his ministry was coordinating with the Rajasthan government and state administrations on a daily basis.
The Zika virus is mainly transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, including Aedes aegypti, which carries dengue. Most people infected with Zika will show no symptoms or will have only mild symptoms of fever, rash, joint pain, conjunctivitis and, possibly, muscle pain and headaches that may last several days to a week.
