Zika virus detected in Gujarat: Woman tests positive in Ahmedabad

New Delhi, Oct 29: After nearly 150 cases in Rajasthan, Zika virus is now spreading in the neighbouring Gujarat state. Health authorities in Gujarat said a woman was tested positive for Zika and was treated at a state hospital in Ahmedabad, the first confirmed case outside Rajasthan this year.

According to Ahmedabad municipal commissioner Vijay Nehra, the woman was admitted to the hospital on October 22 for gynaecological issues. Her blood samples were tested to check if she had dengue or malaria. But she tested negative. In a precautionary measure, doctors sent the blood samples to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for a test for Zika virus.

Gujarat, which borders Rajasthan to the south, has been fumigating public areas in an effort to kill the mosquitos that carry the diseases.

Health authorities in Rajasthan have detected 147 cases of Zika since September, officials say. Almost 440,000 people were under surveillance in Rajasthan's capital Jaipur last month.

The first Zika cases in India were reported in January 2017 in Gujarat but the latest case is the first in the state this year.