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Zika virus: IAF personnel tests positive in Kanpur, it’s the 1st case in UP
The IAF personnel was suffering from fever for the past several days and was admitted to the Air Force Hospital in Kanpur
In the first known case of the zika virus in Uttar Pradesh, an Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel tested positive for the viral disease in Kanpur, health officials said on Sunday.
Samples of 22 people the infected IAF personnel came in contact with have tested negative, the officials said.
Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes, which bite during the day. Symptoms are generally mild and include fever, rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache
Kanpur’s chief medical officer Nepal Singh said that the IAF (warrant) officer showed symptoms of the virus, including fever, over the last few days and was admitted to the Air Force Hospital in the district.
As there was no improvement in his condition, the blood samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, on Wednesday, Singh said. The officer’s tests returned positive today (Sunday), he said.
The health department has isolated the officer’s contacts, he added. “All the 22 samples of his family members, relatives and friends sent to King George’s Medical University (KGMU), Lucknow, have tested negative,” Singh said.
“No new case is a big relief for all of us,” Singh said, adding that the health department is yet to trace the source of the officer’s infection.
Health and civic bodies’ officials have been put on alert to deal with the situation after the first case of zika virus in Uttar Pradesh. Besides, several teams have been tasked with checking the spread of the virus in the district, officials said.
Anti-larva spray was done in and around the place the IAF officer lived with his family.
Dr Singh said health department teams were going door to door in Lal Bangla and Jajmau areas of Kanpur to see if anyone else has similar symptoms.
