Kanpur’s Zika virus case tally reaches 10, focus on halting mosquito breeding

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh has so far reported 10 cases of the Zika virus with six fresh cases of the mosquito-borne virus being reported from Kanpur district.

While three of these cases are Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel, the remaining seven, including six reported recently, are all civilians including a pregnant woman, who is under round-the-clock observation.

According to state government sources, a total of 645 samples have been sent to King George Medical University (KGMU) so far. 253 samples among them have been collected from people with symptoms of fever and 103 samples are of pregnant women. Out of 507 samples tested, merely 9 people have tested positive for Zika virus, while 1 patient had tested positive from the samples that were sent to NIV Pune.

Heightening preventive measures to eliminate cases of Zika virus in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government will further intensify comprehensive surveillance and implement stringent containment curbs on the breeding of mosquitoes.

“The Health Department must ensure strict surveillance to check the spread of Zika virus and should undertake frequent and extensive door-to-door sanitisation and fogging drives to stop mosquito breeding. People should be made aware of preventive measures and must be encouraged to maintain cleanliness,” instructed the Chief Minister in a high-level meeting with senior officials.