After Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh`s Kannauj reports first Zika virus case

Zika virus is spread through the bite of an infected Aedes species of mosquito, which bites during the day.

New Delhi: After Kanpur, now Uttar Pradesh’s Kannauj district has registered the first case of Zika virus. The mosquito-borne disease was reported in a 45-year-old male who was staying at Shivrajpur village of Kanpur, Chief Medical Officer Dr Vinod Kumar said on Saturday (November 6). 

"After the Zika-positive man complained of fever, the doctors took his sample on November 3. The health department got alert as soon as he tested positive," Kumar told ANI. 

Further, he said that the samples of 19 people who came in contact with the patient have been taken for examination. 

Kanpur had reported its first case of Zika virus after a 57-year-old warrant officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF) was diagnosed with the infection in late October. With 13 new cases of Zika virus reported in Kanpur on Saturday, the total caseload has climbed to 79. 

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday held a high-level meeting releasing detailed guidelines on COVID-19 vaccination, the spread of Zika virus in the state and other issues. 

In view of the spike in Zika virus cases in Kanpur, Adityanath directed the officials to speed up sanitisation work. "Infection of Zika virus is spreading rapidly in Kanpur. Considering the seriousness, special caution is required," he said.

The Delhi government is also on alert and monitoring the developments in Kanpur which has reported several cases of Zika virus in the last two weeks, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said. 

Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that transmits through the bite of an infected Aedes species of mosquito, which bites during the day. The symptoms of this disease are mild fever, rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or a headache. 

(With agency inputs)