Zika virus may have already become endemic in India: Experts

Even as a recent study led by the Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR showed the silent spread of Zika in many states health experts say that the virus may have already become endemic in IndiaZika virus ZIKV is a vectorborne flavivirus which is transmitted by the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes mainly Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus It can also be transmitted through blood transfusions sexual contact and via exposure to urineWhile Zika cases were earlier reported from Gujarat and Tamil Nadu in 2017 and Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in 2018 in 2021 the virus was detected in Kerala Uttar Pradesh Maharashtra Telangana Jharkhand Rajasthan Punjab as well as DelhiThe presence of the ZIKV in these new states confirmed local virus transmission the ICMR saidThe retrospective surveillance for Zika virus undertaken by us demonstrates the silent spread of this virus to almost all parts of India with a predominance of the more recent 2018 Rajasthan ZIKV strain the authors notedAedes aegypti sampled during the 2018 Zika outbreak in Rajasthan showed the presence of Asian lineage of the virus and not the American lineage that caused a global medical emergency in 2016 with thousands of babies born with birth defects such as microcephaly after their mothers became infected while pregnantHowever microcephaly has not yet been reported in IndiaZika virus infections have been very commonly observed in India also nowadays especially in the states of Maharashtra Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh So in simpler terms I would rather say the Zika virus has already become endemic in India Dr Satish Koul Director Internal Medicine Fortis Memorial Research Institute Gurugram told IANSKoul attributed the endemicity to our peculiar monsoon season which has the tendency to lead to more of these vectorborne diseases in IndiaDr Merlin Moni Clinical Associate Professor Division of Infectious Diseases Amrita Hospital Kochi said that the increasing rates of global warming that is leading to erratic rainfall and increasing mosquito density is likely to cause further spread of Zika virus in IndiaThere is a possibility of this becoming endemic and the transmission can occur from people who are not symptomatic also This has favoured increase in disease transmission to an endemic rate in the last couple of years Moni told IANSIn April the World Health Organisation WHO warned that the next pandemic could be triggered by insectborne pathogens including Zika and dengueThe agency noted that the frequency and magnitude of outbreaks of these viruses transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes are increasing globally fuelled by the convergence of ecologic economic and social factorsAlthough there are no treatment options available in the world for the management of Zika virus conservative management is the one advised good hydration paracetamol whenever the patient has any evidence of body ache or fever Dr Umang Agrawal Infectious Diseases Consultant PD Hinduja Hospital amp MRC told IANSAs far as preventing disease is concerned the major precautions that we need to undertake is to make sure that we are taking mosquito prevention measures as much as possible This would include use of mosquito nets making sure that theres good general hygiene in and around the house so that there are no puddles where the mosquitoes may breed etc he addedRecently scientists at the National Institute of Virology NIV Pune also raised an alarm about coinfection of Zika with dengue and chikungunyaThe experts have called for continuous and enhanced surveillance for ZIKV along with dengue and chikungunya as well as the need to develop a safe and effective vaccine for ZIKV that can be administered to pregnant womenAlso read Community spread of Zika in many states says NIV studyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever