Centre forms technical group to monitor Zika situation in country

Health Minister J P Nadda, held a high-level meeting to take stock of the situation in view of the recent cases of Zika virus being reported from some countries and said that India is “well prepared” in case of any eventuality. The initiative of the Centre comes a day after the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that the virus was spreading “explosively” and can affect countries like India. 

“We are closely monitoring the situation and all necessary steps have been initiated to ensure that India is well prepared in case of any eventuality,” Nadda said after the meeting in which doctors from AIIMS also participated. The Aedes Aegypti mosquito carries the Zika virus which is thought to cause brain damage in babies. This mosquito also carries the viruses that cause dengue and chikungunya which are of great public health concern in tropical countries like India. 

The outbreak began in Brazil last year and has now spread to 24 countries in the Americas. Zika virus is believed to cause neurological problems like microcephaly, a condition of abnormally small head in babies.

“Nadda directed constitution of a technical group with immediate effect which would monitor the situation” an official statement said.