WHO reports Zika outbreak in country

New Delhi : The World Health Organisation (WHO) today announced the Zika virus outbreak in India, reporting the first three laboratory confirmed cases of the disease, all from Ahmedabad in Gujarat. The WHO, however, did not recommend any travel or trade restriction  and said the current evidence suggested low levels of transmission of the virus. It said cases could occur in future and advised India to remove breeding sites of Zika vector, the Aedes mosquito, besides reducing human-mosquito contact.WHO said on May 15, India’s health ministry reported three laboratory-confirmed cases of Zika virus in Bapunagar area of Ahmedabad. All were detected during surveillance at BJ Medical College. The etiology  was confirmed through positive test and sequencing at India’s national reference laboratory, National Institute of Virology, Pune.The first case involved a 64-year-old male whose sample was taken during an acute febrile illness surveillance at BJMC between February 10 and 16, 2016, when 93 blood samples in all were collected.  The second case features a 34-year-old female who delivered a healthy baby at BJMC on November 9, 2016. After delivery she developed low grade fever. A sample from her was negative for dengue but positive for Zika. The third case is of a 22-year-old pregnant woman whose sample was taken at BJMC during antenatal clinic surveillance between January 6 and 12 this year when 111 blood samples were collected.