Maharashtra reports 8 Zika virus cases, Centre tells states to be vigilant

Maharashtra has recorded eight new cases of the Zika virus, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday.

“We have received 106 samples from across the country,” National Institute of Virology Director Naveen Kumar told the newspaper. “So far [in Maharashtra], six have tested positive for Zika virus infection in Pune while one each has been identified from Ahmednagar and Kolhapur,” he said.

Kumar urged citizens, particularly in Pune, not to panic.

The Zika virus is transmitted primarily by the Aedes species of mosquito, which bite during the day, according to the World Health Organization. Symptoms of infection include fever, rashes, headache and joint pain. The virus can also be transmitted sexually.

While infection by the Zika virus is non-fatal, it is associated with microcephaly (reduced head size) in babies born to women who contract the disease when pregnant.

The National Institute of Virology has the capability to test the viral genome and the Zika virus antibodies, Gajanan Sapkal, scientist-in-charge of the institute’s diagnostic virology group, told The Indian Express.

“So far, two samples have been sequenced,” he said. “Presently the Zika virus in Pune belongs to the Asian lineage.”

There are two Zika virus lineages: the African lineage and the Asian lineage. “Of the two lineages, the African Zika virus is seldom associated with cases of human infection outside the African subcontinent,” Sapkal told The Times of India.

In Pune,...

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