Maharashtra, already battling the prolonged wave of Covid-19 pandemic, is now facing the threat of another deadly disease, the Zika virus.
The Maharashtra health department has sounded alert in the state after the first case of Zika virus was reported from Pune district last week.
With the state health department raising an alarm, the district administration has directed all hospitals and medical facilities to be on alert to deal with any Zika virus case.
According to reports, the first Zika virus case was reported from Belsar village in Pune on July 30. The state health department suspects that 79 villages around Belsar village can be the most vulnerable to the Zika virus.
The administration is keeping a close eye on Velha, Mulshi, Baramati, Purandar, Ambegaon, Shirur, Daund, Indapur, Haveli, Junnar, Khed, and Bhor villages.
To fight the Zika virus, the state health department had held an emergency meeting with the officials of the district administration and the hospital authorities. District medical staffs have been asked to collect blood samples of anyone complaining of high fever and body ache and especially people suffering with dengue and Chikungunya.
According to an official who attended the meeting, a list of villages is being prepared by the Pune district administration from where cases of dengue, Chikungunya and other mosquito borne diseases have been reported in large numbers.
The symptoms of the Zika infection include weakness, fever, headache and rashes on the body which lasts for almost seven days. According to doctors 80 percent of the patients infected with Zika virus are asymptomatic.
The medical community believes that pregnant women are the ones most affected by the virus and if they are infected then it could lead to microcephaly, a condition where the baby’s head is much smaller than expected.
The first Zika virus case in the country was reported from Kerala on July 8 this year after a pregnant woman tested positive for the virus.