Kerala sees the first case of the Zika Virus in the state. Besides, the total cases reach up to 13, with 19 samples tested. All these 13 samples that tested positive came from the Thiruvananthapuram district.
The state’s first positive case is a pregnant woman of 24 years. She hails from Prasalla, a place near Thiruvananthapuram. Additionally, the doctors have informed that the woman is doing well. Besides, the virus does not cause any threat to the life of the person. However, the virus could also pass onto the foetus of the pregnant woman, causing issues to the same.
Kerala’s Health Minister, Veena George, said that the state has started to alert the districts regarding the spread of the virus. Moreover, George also said that the pregnant woman is doing well. Also adding that she has given birth to a child.
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The Health Minister also added that the officials are doing their best to make people aware of the virus. Besides, she also said that they are strengthening the preventive actions in the different areas.
Zika Virus: Symptoms And Treatment
There is no specific treatment or vaccine against this virus. However, according to health officials, one must prevent mosquito bites, especially during the daytime.
The virus is not new to the world. Additionally, the first case was seen in monkeys in Uganda in the 1940s. According to the World Health Organisation, Aedes mosquitoes are the primary cause of the Zika Virus. The same mosquito species is also responsible for various other life-threatening health problems like dengue, yellow fever, and chikungunya.
There are no actual symptoms of the virus. Some symptoms include only mild fever, headache, joint pain. These symptoms occur in the body of the patients after 2-7 days of the mosquito bite. The incubation period of the same is 3-14 days. Zika virus can cause microcephaly in the foetus and newborns. This was seen in Brazil six years ago when 1500 newborns were born with microcephaly.
Besides, this is not the first case of the virus in the country. The first case was reported way back in 2017, whereas the second case also came up in the same year.
The state is already seeing the most significant number of covid cases in the country in the last few days. Hence, the cases of the Zika Virus are putting Kerala in a more vulnerable state.
