First Zika virus case in Maharashtra reported

Zika is a moderate disease as 80% patients do not get any symptoms and remaining 20% have moderate flu-like symptoms, State surveillance officer Dr. Pradip Awate said.

An Aedes Aegypti mosquito. Photograph used for representational purposes only

The first Zika virus infection case in Maharashtra has been reported from Pune district, officials said on July 31, while asking people to not panic.

The woman patient who was diagnosed with the infection has recovered completely, the State health department said.

The patient and her family members do not have any symptoms, it said in a statement.

The 50-year-old woman, a resident of Belsar village in Purandar tehsil, received her test report on July 30. The report said that besides Zika infection, she was also infected by Chickungunya.

A government medical team visited the village on July 31 and met the sarpanch and gram panchayat members, instructing them to follow preventive measures, the statement said.

Zika virus spreads through

aedes aegypti mosquitoes and most patients do not show symptoms. Typical symptoms include fever, body ache and conjunctivitis. Pregnant women should be careful, the statement said.

State surveillance officer Dr. Pradip Awate told PTI that there was no need for panic.

“Zika is a moderate disease as 80% patients do not get any symptoms and remaining 20% have moderate flu-like symptoms. One can recover by drinking enough water, taking rest and having a simple paracetamol tablet,” he said.

Death due to Zika virus infection was unheard of, he added.

Dr. Awate also said during the 2019 Zika outbreak in Brazil, it was believed that Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause microcephaly (abnormal smallness of the head). “But this connection has not been proved so far.”

“However, we have still put special emphasis on the need for special care of pregnant women,” he added.

Ayush Prasad, Chief Executive Officer, Pune district, asked people to not panic. “It is due to proactive work of our field teams that the case was detected. We are working very hard to contain the spread and make the best healthcare available to people,” he said.