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Zika virus cases in Kerala soar past 50 with 3 new infections
Kerala has set up a control room which is operating round-the-clock for the people to seek information and inquire about Zika virus.
At least three people tested positive for Zika virus infection in Kerala on Monday, taking the cumulative tally in the southern state to 51. Kerala’s health minister Veena George said five patients were receiving treatment for the disease till Monday.
The samples of the three, aged 53, 30 and 21, from state capital Thiruvananthapuram, that came positive for the infection on Monday, were tested at the virology lab in Government Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram.
The first case of Zika virus in the state was reported on July 8. “Till now, we have recorded 51 confirmed cases of Zika virus infection. Currently, five persons are under treatment,” news agency PTI reported citing a press statement from the health minister.
The health minister said the state has set up a control room which is operating round-the-clock for the people to seek information and inquire about the disease.
A day earlier, on Sunday, two people were found infected with the disease while four were undergoing treatment. The two cases were from Kazhakoottam and Pangappara in Thiruvananthapuram district.
The health minister said earlier that the state government developed a micro plan to battle the transmission of Zika virus cases. She also said that the administration would intensify activities such as fumigation for controlling mosquitoes in areas affected by the disease.
“Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation has intensified activities and the district administration will also be part of it and coordinate all the departments. They will do fogging for the next 7 days,” she had said on July 23.
Kerala was also grappling with the second wave of coronavirus disease (Covid-19). It witnessed 11,586 infections from the virus in the previous 24 hours as the tally reached 32,83,116, according to the state health department’s bulletin on Monday. As many as 135 people succumbed to the viral disease during the period, taking the death toll to 16,170.
