Abhijay Raj Vaish, Pune
The Zika Virus tally in Pune mounted to 48 with the district reporting 9 fresh cases on Sunday, according to the Health Department. Out of the new cases, seven are from within the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) area while the other two have been reported from Wagholi and Pune rural. The cases within the PMC limits have been reported from Kothrud, Katraj, Shivane, Erandwane, Law college road, Kondhwa, and Koregaon park.
Among the newly reported cases, a 25-year-old pregnant woman from Shivane has also contracted the virus. Zika Virus is an even lethal threat in pregnant woman as it might lead to congenital microcephaly. It is a condition where the baby’s head is much smaller than expected in relation to it’s age. In this case, the virus might cause the brain to not develop to its potential during pregnancy. It might also cause other neurological complications. Out of the 48 cases that have been reported in the district since June 20, 14 have been pregnant women.
Zika has also claimed lives of two senior citizens who died one month post testing positive for the virus. The health department of the PMC has also sent a team of medical staff to screen and test citizens in civic schools who have a fever profile near Sinhgad and Ektanagari area as part of their incidental profiling. The PMC has seeked guidance from the National Institute of Virology in detecting the virus along with the deaths associated with it.
54 cases of the virus have been reported in Maharashtra until now which is the highest ever tally for the state in a year, according to health officials. The state has been severely affected since the virus spreading mosquito is the most active in topical and sub-tropical regions.
The Aedes mosquito is known to be the spreader of Zika Virus. It can cause infections like dengue, Yellow fever and chikungunya where most of the patients remain asymptomatic while others show mild symptoms that include fever, joint pain, body aches, and rash. Several advisories have been issued by the health bodies to curb the spread of the virus.