Pune: The number of Zika patients in the city has increased to 12 with a 31-year-old pregnant woman from Yerawada testing positive for the infection on Monday. Among the total cases, the infection has been detected in six expecting mothers so far.
According to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), Zika virus in pregnant women can induce microcephaly in the foetus, especially if the infection occurs in the first trimester. “In view of this, PMC also held a meeting with private hospitals to ensure that every case is reported to the civic body on time, allowing civic health officials to initiate preventive measures,” a civic health official said.
The pregnant woman had visited a private hospital‘s OPD after she developed symptoms like fever, red rash and body pain on June 29. “Her blood samples were then sent to a private laboratory. Meanwhile, PMC also sent her samples to NIV [National Institute of Virology] for Zika infection confirmation. Both the tests confirmed the presence of Zika infection. The NIV report confirming the infection was received late on Saturday night. The woman is about seven weeks into pregnancy,” the civic official said.
The city has reported Zika cases from Erandwane, Mundhwa, Dahanukar Colony, Pashan, Ambegaon, Kharadi and Yerawada till the detection of the first case in a doctor on June 20.
The civic body has sent blood samples of 86 pregnant women to the NIV till Monday evening. “Since the emergence of the infection, we have screened over 10,000 homes, of which mosquito-breeding sites were found in 311. Of the 30,000 containers inspected so far, 437 were found breeding mosquitoes. We have also issued notices to 129 people found harbouring mosquito-breeding spots and imposed a penalty of Rs 1.12 lakh on them,” Dr Rajesh Dighe, assistant health officer, PMC, said.
Amid rise in Zika cases, the civic body has directed private hospitals to ensure that all pregnant women were tested for Zika infection in case of any symptoms, besides testing the foetus for any anomalies.
Dr Kalpana Baliwant, deputy director, PMC health department, said, “On Monday, we invited representatives of 52 private hospitals, including medical administrators, managers and medical superintendents, to discuss the rise in Zika infections in the city. In the meeting, we instructed doctors to test all pregnant women in the city staying in the vicinity of Zika patients.”
“We have also told the private hospitals to check for any anomalies in the foetus through sonography or nuchal translucency test. If any Zika case is confirmed by a private laboratory, they must immediately inform us about it,” Dr Baliwant said.
An NT test is an optional ultrasound performed in the first trimester to help determine the baby’s risk of congenital conditions.
The health authorities are still in the dark on the infection source as NIV, in its recent report, did not find the virus in any of the mosquito samples it had collected from the affected areas. Entomologists, however, maintain that the Zika-causing mosquitoes might have died in the fogging exercises initiated by the civic authorities following the detection of cases. A section of entomologists even suggested that the workplaces of the patients should also be checked for the disease-causing vectors.
The civic administration has been carrying out anti-larval and fogging exercises in the affected areas.
A 46-year-old doctor and his daughter (15) of Erandwane tested positive for Zika in June, making them the city’s first two confirmed cases this season.
