Zika virus: Guidelines issues to contain the spread

New Delhi, July 10: With a high alert being sounded in Karnataka after Kerala reported 13 more cases of the Zika virus, fresh guidelines have been issued. State Health Commissioner Trilok Chandra said in an order that as monsoon season allows proliferation of Aedes mosquito, which is a vector for Zika virus disease, surveillance should be carried out in rural and urban areas of the state on a war footing.

Zika virus: Guidelines to contain the spread:

Dispose off solid waste to prevent Aedes breeding in peri-domestic areas

Vector management should include surveillance of larvae, biological and chemical control at household, community and institutional levels

Conduct Aedes larval surveillance and source reduction activities in airports, seaports, and in rural and urban civic wards

Travel history or visit of guests will be taken into account to suspect the disease considering the virus presents symptoms such as rashes, fever, conjunctivitis and joint pain

Samples from suspected cases will be collected and sent to the National Institute of Virology in Bengaluru for testing

During ultra-sound scanning for pregnant women, focus should be given for presence of microcephaly. If detected, the serum sample of the pregnant women should be sent to NIV for testing.

Border districts with Kerala-Chamrajnagar, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi instructed to be more vigilant

Meanwhile a six-member central team of experts has been dispatched to Kerala to monitor the Zika virus situation and support the state government in management of cases, the Union health ministry said on Friday.

The southern state has so far reported 14 cases of Zika virus. It has been put on alert.

At a press conference here, joint secretary in the health ministry Lav Agarwal said, "There are some Zika cases which have been reported from Kerala. To monitor the situation and to support the state government, a six-member team comprising public health experts, vector-borne disease experts and clinicians from AIIMS has already been issued instructions to reach there and support the state government in terms of management of Zika there."

A 24-year-old pregnant woman was the first to have been diagnosed with the mosquito-transmitted disease on Thursday.

The National Institute of Virology (NIV) confirmed 13 more cases on Friday, according to the state government.

The symptoms of Zika are similar to dengue and they include fever, rashes and joint pain.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George has said that an action plan has been drawn up to control the spread of Zika.