FOETUS KILLER" ZIKA" NOW IN INDIA -AN ALARMING THREAT AFTER DENGUE,CHIKUNGUNYA

FOETUS KILLER" ZIKA" NOW IN INDIA -AN ALARMING THREAT AFTER DENGUE,CHIKUNGUNYA 

Prof.Dr.Dram,profdrram@gmail.com,Gastro Intestinal,Liver Hiv,Hepatitis and sex diseases expert 7838059592,9434143550

Zika ,a  virus which has been declared by WHO as an " Public health Emergecny of International Concern" till last year was a concern of latin America and Africa is now seen sporadically in India too where pregnant mother usually have no history of travelling to affected area of foreign nations.A pregnant woman can pass Zika virus to her fetus. Infection during pregnancy can cause serious birth defects such as microcephaly and other congenital malformations, known as congenital Zika syndrome. Other complications include preterm birth and miscarriage and pregnancy loss.It can cause Guillain-Barré syndrome, neuropathy and myelitis, particularly in adults and older children.

           Eight people in Jaipur have tested positive for the Zika virus. Of these, three are pregnant women, reports TOI. The first case was reported in the end of September. The health department has directed compulsory tests on pregnant women with fever in the Shastri Nagar area. There are 318 would-be mothers in the locality. Over 20 samples were sent to National Institute of Virology, Pune, and results of the remaining samples are awaited.Last year in May, the WHO confirmed the first three cases of laboratory-confirmed Zika virus infection in India from Ahmedabad in Gujarat. The cases then detected were a 34-year-old female patient admitted to hospital with complaints of fever following delivery of a healthy baby, who had no travel history to any Zika affected country. The other two cases include a 22-year-old pregnant woman in her 37th week of pregnancy and a 64-year-old male with 8 days history of fever. 

                        Dengue and Chikungunya are already endemic in the country and causing serious morbidity and mortality in this mansson season . Like Dengue and Chikungunya, Zika is a viral infection and also shares a common vector with them, the Aedes mosquitoes which also spreads yellow fever but not reported in India.Zika virus derives its name from the Zika forest in Uganda, where it was first identified in 1947 in monkeys. It was then identified in humans in 1952. The first recorded outbreak of Zika virus disease was reported from the Island of Yap (Federated States of Micronesia) in 2007. This was followed by a large outbreak of Zika virus infection in French Polynesia in 2013 and other countries and territories in the Pacific.In March 2015, Brazil reported a large outbreak of rash illness, soon identified as Zika virus infection, and in July 2015, found to be associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome.In October 2015, Brazil reported an association between Zika virus infection and microcephaly.

                Zika virus in India “is distinct from the both African as well as pathogenic Asian strains; thus, it does not replicate profusely as the African and Asian prototype strains are known to do, and this is also the reason that there is low susceptibility in mosquitoes and they do not pick up and transmit the infection easily” (Indian J Med Res. 2017;146:572-5). But, if this Zika strain mutates to more efficiently infect mosquitoes, it could become a major public health problem in the future similar to Chikungunya virus, which re-emerged in India after decades of remaining dormant.So it needs that we remain high alert,as there is no specific vaccine so have to use other general measures as for dengue & Chikungunya to be away from mosquito bite as mosquito repellant, cleaning of water pots, coolers,drains, mosquito net and sanitation.

         India being a hotspot on the tourist map.While enhanced surveillance, community-based including at international airports and ports, to track cases of acute febrile illness is the need of the hour, creating public awareness about the disease including preventive measures should be the focus. At the same time, the public should be assured that there is no need to panic

             Zika has an incubation period is 3 to 14 days.Most people are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms such as fever, rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. Symptoms generally last for 2–7 days.Dengue or Chikungunya-like symptoms of fever with a rash or joint pain, with red eyes, should not be ignored. Such cases could be Zika. Eliciting a travel history in such patients is very important.Patient treated symptomatic with common NSAIDS.