Zika virus cases cross 100-mark in UP's Kanpur with 16 new infections

Kanpur: Increasing number of Zika virus cases has created a worrisome situation for the industrial city of Uttar Pradesh as it has crossed the 100-mark with 16 more cases being reported on Wednesday.

The fresh tally of 106 cases includes nine men and seven women, including two in an advanced stage of pregnancy from the Zika epicentre of the Chakeri area and one patient who tested positive on Saturday from the neighbouring Kannauj district, said an IANS report.

Chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Nepal Singh reportedly said that the 16 new patients are residents of Harjinder Nagar, Pokharpur, Tiwaripur Bagiya and Qazi Khera localities in the Chakeri area.

The pregnant women who contracted the Zika virus underwent an ultrasound test and doctors confirmed their foetuses were healthy.

"In the report received from KGMU Lucknow on Tuesday, seven women of whom two are pregnant, and nine men have been confirmed to be infected with Zika virus. The infected persons have no severe symptoms. All have been kept in home isolation. About 100 teams have been deployed in the city for source reduction and 15 teams for home sampling and sampling. Also, an additional 15 rapid response teams (RRT) have been engaged to check the spread of Zika virus," the CMO is quoted as saying by IANS

A senior health official, however, said that a massive sampling campaign is underway in the affected areas.

"Most of the patients are asymptomatic. A door-to-door survey and sampling of symptomatic people are being done. Instructions have been given for sampling pregnant women, particularly those in the affected areas. Also, radiology centres have been alerted. If there is any problem in the development of the foetus, information should be given to the control room immediately," officials told the news agency.

Earlier on Sunday, 10 more people, including three Indian Air Force personnel, tested positive for the Zika virus in Kanpur, taking the total number of cases to 89. On Saturday, 13 people were tested positive for the Zika virus, including one case from neighbouring Kannauj district. 

Kanpur District Magistrate Vishak G Ayyar told PTI on Wednesday, “Out of the 89 infected people, 55 are men and 34 are women. Among these, 23 are those having age below 21 years. Of the total infected people, 12 are Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel. This includes 11 men and one woman.” 

The Kanpur DM reportedly said that health teams have collected samples of 525 people who were in close contact with the infected people and living in the radius of 3 km of the IAF station hangars for testing.

Notably, the first case of the Zika virus was reported in the city on October 23 when a warrant officer of the IAF tested positive for the infection. A total of 3,283 samples have so far been collected and sent to the virology lab of KGMU in Lucknow and NIV in Pune for testing.

(With Agency Inputs)