Kerala reports 2 more cases of Zika virus, tally climbs to 37
Monday’s cases include a 41-year-old woman from Kattaikonam, Thiruvananthapuram and a 31-year-old doctor from Kumarapuram, state health minister Veena George said in a release.
KKerala health minister Veena George said on Monday that two more people have tested positive for Zika virus, taking the state’s tally to 37. Of total, seven patients are undergoing treatment.
Monday’s cases include a 41-year-old woman from Kattaikonam, Thiruvananthapuram and a 31-year-old doctor from Kumarapuram, George said in a release. The virus was confirmed in tests carried out at the Virology Lab of the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, she said, adding the health of all those infected is satisfactory at present.
Kerala, which is already grappling with an increased spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), saw the outbreak of the Zika virus on July 8 when 14 people were found to be infected. These included a 24-year-old pregnant woman from Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram. Later, she gave birth and both the mother and the baby were stable, Hindustan Times reported.
Five cases of the deadly virus were reported on Saturday, while two more were found to be infected on Friday. Earlier, health minister Veena George on Friday held a meeting with state revenue minister K Rajan on July 16 and the two decided to work together to prevent the spread of Zika virus along with other communicable diseases.
With a view to ensure that Kerala’s medical infrastructure, which is dealing with a rising number of Covid-19 cases, is not overburdened, the state ministers decided to formulate district-wise action plans at the earliest in order to prevent further spread of the Zika Virus.
Meanwhile, the state’s Covid-19 positivity rate crossed 11 per cent on Monday after 9,931 new infections were recorded in the last 24 hours, taking the caseload to 3,170,868. Fifty-eight more people succumbed to the viral disease in the said period, taking the toll to 15,408.