Pune: 66 cases of Zika virus infection detected since June

At least 66 cases of Zika virus infection have been reported in Pune city in the since June reported PTI citing civic officials on TuesdayOut of the 66 cases four patients have died but the cause in each case was not the Zika infection a senior health official told PTI These four patients were aged between 68 and 78Those infected also included 26 pregnant women but most of them are in good health an official statement saidThe first case of Zika virus infection in the city this year was reported on June 20 A 46yearold doctor in the Erandwane area tested positive following which his 15yearold daughter too tested positive for the infectionThe 66 cases include four deaths but these deaths were not due to Zika but comorbidities the patients were suffering fromsuch as cardiac issues liver ailments old age Their reports came positive for the virus from the NIV National Institute of Virology after death the health department official said as per the PTI reportThe Pune Municipal Corporations health department would nonetheless send their reports to the death audit committee of the Maharashtra government the official addedSo far no death due to Zika has been reported in the country he said reported PTIPreganant women with Zika virus maybe prone to microcephaly a condition in which the head is significantly smaller due to abnormal brain development in the foetusThe virus is transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito which is also known to transmit dengue and chikungunya infectionsThe PMC health department is conducting surveillance As a precautionary measure it is taking measures such as fumigation to curb the breeding of mosquitoes the statement addedWhile Mumbai reports the highest number of dengue and malaria cases in the state every year Zika doesnrsquot make the list even though it is highly transmissible The reason there are no reported cases of the Zika virus in Mumbai is that civic authorities are not actively looking for it according to state health department officialsldquoFrom a public health standpoint it is unlikely that there are no Zika cases in Mumbai It is only when a case is reported from an area that there is a focus on mass testing within a fivekm radiusrdquo said Dr Radhakishan Pawar deputy director of state health servicesOne reason for the limited scope of largescale diagnosis is the lack of testing facilities KEM Hospital is the only hospital in the city that tests patients for the Zika virus Apart from that the National Institute of Virology NIV in Pune is the only diagnostic facility for Zika testing in the state This is also the case across the country there is only the National Centre for Disease Control NCDC in Delhi and a few selected virus research and diagnostic laboratories of the Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR that tests for ZIka