Responding to criticism that it delayed in reporting Zika cases, the Union Health Ministry in a statement said it had handled the cases as per India’s existing protocol.
It noted that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had, on November 18, 2016, declared that Zika infection no longer constituted a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), adding that the Ministry handled the case “as per our existing protocol” as a result of this declaration.
According to the statement, “The ongoing country-wide Zika laboratory based surveillance has so far tested 36,613 human samples and 16,571 mosquito samples.” It added that no other sample tested positive apart from the three laboratory confirmed cases reported from Ahmedabad.
The statement said the Zika cases were reported first as a part of an answer to a Parliament question on March 17, 2017 and that WHO was notified of all three cases on May 15, 2017.
In a separate statement, the WHO said “Although Zika is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, WHO maintains that vigilance on Zika needs to remain high.”
It added that: “Reporting of Zika cases reflects the country’s efforts to implement key WHO recommendations related to surveillance as well as their commitment to the International Health Regulations, which requires all member countries to report public health events to WHO. In view of the first confirmed Zika cases, India has further stepped up surveillance.”
