Amid efforts to contain coronavirus disease (Covid-19), Kerala reported 13 cases of mosquito-borne Zika virus for the first time. All samples tested positive for the Zika virus were collected from the Thiruvananthapuram district and sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune. The samples were collected for testing after a 24-year-old pregnant woman sought treatment late last month with symptoms like fever, headache, and red marks on the skin, according to Mathrubhumi news portal.
Zika virus spreads mostly by the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito, which bites during the day. Aedes mosquitoes are the same that transmit dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever. The virus can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus and can cause infants to be born with microcephaly and other congenital malformations.
It is also associated with other complications of pregnancy including preterm birth and miscarriage. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), individuals infected with the Zika virus can also transmit the disease to their sex partners.
The symptoms for the mosquito-borne disease include mild and include fever, rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise, or headache. The incubation period of Zika virus disease is estimated to be 3–14 days and the symptoms typically last for 2–7 days. Most people with Zika virus infection do not develop symptoms, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
