PUNE The Maharashtra health department has confirmed three cases of Zika virus, including a doctor in Kolhapur. All three cases are from Ichalkaranji and have tested positive for the infections as per the reports from private labs. The samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) to reconfirm Zika virus infection, said officials.
The first case was reported on Friday (September) in a 38-year-old neuro physician who has a travel history to Ratnagiri.
The private practitioner had travelled to a private hospital in Ratnagiri on August 24. Later he visited Ganpatipule..
As per the officials, on August 25, he developed a cold, fever and uneasiness and his samples were given to a private lab on August 29. The blood reports from a private lab-confirmed Zika virus and the case was notified by the district epidemic cell.
Following this, the surveillance team from the health department visited Ichalkaranji tehsil on Saturday, during which two more cases were reported. The two cases include a male and female patient both from Ichalkaranji and currently admitted and undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
Dr Pratapsinh Sarinkar, joint director of health services, said the infection has been confirmed by private labs and the samples have been sent to NIV for confirmation. However, we have started the disease surveillance and contact tracing in the tehsil.”
The infected patients have six family members and samples of three family members have been taken for testing. Also, samples of seven people including pregnant women are taken from the community, said officials.
Dr Sarnikar said seven teams have been appointed to conduct surveillance of the 47,000-population living in the area.
“We are collecting patients’ details like travel history, and onset of symptoms for information. Samples of people with symptoms of Zika virus will be taken for testing. Entomological surveillance will also be carried out with vector-borne disease elimination. Fever survey and daily survey to exercise precautionary measures for pregnant women will be done,” he said.
