The Union health ministry on Friday constituted a technical committee to trace travel guidelines for those coming from Zika virus-affected countries with the World Health Organisation(WHO) raising fears about its “explosive” spread.
The virus has surfaced largely in Central and South America and the Caribbean as a deadlier strain affecting fetuses, posing a greater risk to pregnant women. The main focus of India is the carrier for Zika virus caused by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito. The symptoms of Zika are also the same as for dengue infection – fever, head and body ache, nausea and so on.
The ministry said all major airports will be directed to put-up signboards, asking passengers coming to report to a doctor if they experience symptoms like body rash and conjunctivitis other than fever, body ache and nausea. The transmission of the virus mostly takes place when the infected person is running a fever.
“The technical committee should be ready with the guidelines by tomorrow, and the airports will have signboards up by next week. We are focusing on pregnant women as the virus seems to be affecting the babies inside the womb,” Dr Jagdish Prasad, Director General Health Services, government of India, told in a Press conference held on Friday.
In a high-level emergency meeting with a medical team of experts from across the country, Union health minister JP Nadda on Friday constituted a joint-monitoring committee that will review the situation in other countries on a weekly basis, and accordingly advise on steps necessary to preventing the further spread of the virus.
