Tag Archives: Zika virus

Health Ministry issues guidelines on Zika Virus Disease

03 Wednesday Feb 2016

Posted by in Current Affairs, Health, International, INTERNATIONAL NEWS, Science

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The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,India issued guidelines on the Zika virus disease, here today. The text of the guidelines is as follows.

Background

Zika virus disease is an emerging viral disease transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. This is the same mosquito that is known to transmit infections like dengue and chikungunya.  Zika virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947.

World Health Organization has reported 22 countries and territories in Americas1 from where local transmission of Zika virus has been reported. Microcephaly in the newborn and other neurological syndromes (Guillain Barre Syndrome) have been found temporally associated with Zika virus infection. However, there are a number of genetic and other causes for microcephaly and neurological syndromes like Guillain Barre Syndrome.

Zika virus disease has the potential for further international spread given the wide geographical distribution of the mosquito vector, a lack of immunity among population in newly affected areas and the high volume of international travel. As of now, the disease has not been reported in India. However, the mosquito that transmits Zika virus, namely Aedes aegypti , that also transmits dengue virus,  is widely prevalent in India.

A majority of those infected with Zika virus disease either remain asymptomatic (up to 80%) or show mild symptoms of fever, rash, conjunctivitis, body ache, joint pains. Zika virus infection should be suspected in patients reporting with acute onset of fever, maculo-papular rash and arthralgia, among those individuals who travelled to areas with ongoing transmission during the two weeks preceding the onset of illness.

Based on the available information of previous outbreaks, severe forms of disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon and fatalities are rare. There is no vaccine or drug available to prevent/ treat Zika virus disease at present.

World Health Organization has declared Zika virus disease to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 1stFebruary, 2016.

[1] Zika virus disease has been reported so far in the following countries; Brazil, Barbados, Bolivia, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Equador, El Salvador, French Guyana. Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, St Martin, Suriname, Virgin Island  and Venezuela. It may be noted   that this list is likely to change with time. Hence, updated information should be checked periodically.

In the light of the current disease trend, and its possible association with adverse pregnancy outcomes, the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare advises on the following:

  1. Enhanced Surveillance

1.1.      Community based Surveillance

 

  • Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) through its community and hospital based data gathering mechanism would track clustering of acute febrile illness   and seek  primary case, if any,  among those who travelled to areas with ongoing transmission in the 2 weeks preceding the onset of illness.
  • IDSP would also advise its State and District level units to look for clustering of cases of microcephaly among newborns and reporting of Gullian Barre Syndrome.
  • The Maternal and Child Health Division (under NHM) would also advise its field units to look for clustering of cases of microcephaly among new borns.

1.2       International Airports/ Ports

  • All the International Airports / Ports will display billboards/ signage providing information to travelers on Zika virus disease and to report to Custom authorities if they are returning from affected countries and suffering from febrile illness.
  • The Airport / Port Health Organization (APHO / PHO) would have quarantine / isolation facility in identified Airports.
  • Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Civil Aviation  will be asked to instruct all international airlines to follow the recommended aircraft disinsection guidelines
  • The APHOs shall circulate guidelines for aircraft disinsection (as per International Health Regulations) to all the international airlines and monitor appropriate vector control measures with the assistance from NVBDCP in airport premises and in the defined perimeter.

1.3       Rapid Response Teams

  • Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) shall be activated at Central and State surveillance units. Each team would comprise an epidemiologist / public health specialist, microbiologist and a medical / paediatric specialist and other experts (entomologist  etc) to travel at short notice  to investigate suspected outbreak.
  • National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi would be the nodal agency for investigation of outbreak in any part of the country.

1.4       Laboratory Diagnosis

  • NCDC, Delhi and National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, have the capacity to provide laboratory diagnosis of Zika virus disease in acute febrile stage. These two institutions would be the apex laboratories to support the outbreak investigation and for confirmation of laboratory diagnosis.  Ten additional laboratories  would be strengthened by ICMR to expand the scope of laboratory diagnosis.
  • RT- PCR test would remain the standard test. As of now there is no commercially available test for Zika virus disease. Serological tests are not recommended.
  1. Risk Communication
  • The States/ UT Administrations would create increased awareness among clinicians including obstetricians, paediatricians and neurologists about Zika virus disease and its possible link with adverse pregnancy outcome (foetal loss, microcephaly etc). There should be enhanced vigilance to take note of travel history to the affected countries in the preceding two weeks.
  • The public needs to be reassured that there is no cause for undue concern. The Central/ State Government shall take all necessary steps to address the challenge of this infection working closely with technical institutions, professionals and global health partners.
  1. Vector Control
  • There would be enhanced integrated vector management. The measures undertaken for control of dengue/ dengue hemorrhagic fever will be further augmented. The guidelines for the integrated vector control will stress on vector surveillance (both for adult and larvae), vector management through environmental modification/ manipulation; personal protection, biological and chemical control at household, community and institutional levels. Details are at Annexure-I.
  • States where dengue transmission is going on currently due to conducive weather conditions (Kerala, Tamil Nadu etc) should ensure extra vigil.
  1. Travel Advisory
  • Non-essential travel to the affected countries to be deferred/ cancelled2.
  • Pregnant women or women who are trying to become pregnant should defer/ cancel their travel to the affected areas.
  • All travelers to the affected countries/ areas should strictly follow individual protective measures, especially during day time, to prevent mosquito bites (use of mosquito repellant cream, electronic mosquito repellants, use of bed nets, and dress that appropriately covers most of the body parts).
  • Persons with co-morbid conditions (diabetes, hypertension, chronic respiratory illness, Immune disorders etc) should seek advice from the nearest health facility, prior to travel to an affected country.
  • Travelers having febrile illness within two weeks of return from an affected country should report to the nearest health facility.
  • Pregnant women who have travelled to areas with Zika virus transmission should mention about their travel during ante-natal visits in order to be assessed and monitored appropriately.
  1. Non-Governmental Organizations
  • Ministry of Health &FW / State Health Departments would work closely with Non-Governmental organizations such as Indian / State Medical Associations, Professional bodies etc to sensitize clinicians both in Government and private sector about Zika virus disease.

2  Based on available evidence, World Health Organization  is not recommending any  travel or trade restrictions.

  1.         Co-ordination with International Agencies
  • National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi, the Focal Point for International Health Regulations (IHR), would seek/ share information with the IHR focal points of the affected countries and be in constant touch with World Health Organization for updates on the evolving epidemic.
  1.         Research
  • Indian Council of Medical Research would identify the research priorities and take appropriate action.
  1.         Monitoring
  • The situation would be monitored by the Joint Monitoring group under Director General of Health Services on regular basis. The guidelines will be updated from time to time as the emerging situation demands.

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MV/SK

 

 

So, what is the Zika virus?

30 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by in Current Affairs, Health, INTERNATIONAL NEWS, Latin America, Readers News Service, USA, Women

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By Peter Gelling

NEED TO KNOW: 

The Zika virus may be the Ebola of 2016, just a lot less deadly. The virus is spreading rapidly throughout the Americas. The World Health Organization said the virus is spreading “explosively.” Health officials are warning of a pandemic. And the news media is starting to take notice.

So, what is the Zika virus? Zika is spread through a certain kind of mosquito that thrives in warmer climates. It’s named after a forest in Uganda and is usually found in Africa and Asia. In fact, until 2015, almost no one in the Western Hemisphere had ever been infected with it.

That’s now changed in a big way. Last May, the Zika virus began showing up in patients in Brazil. And since people in the Americas have no immunity to it, the virus began to spread quickly. Millions of people may already be infected across South and Central America.

The Zika virus, however, is not like Ebola. It won’t kill you. Most people who contract Zika won’t even notice. Those who do will have a fever, joint pain, maybe red eyes. All of it is treatable and it’s unlikely a patient would even have to be admitted to the hospital.

There is one exception: pregnant women. Scientists suspect that a rise in the number of cases of pregnant women giving birth to children with abnormally small heads and brains — a condition called microcephaly — is related to the rise in Zika.

Typically Brazil sees about 150 microcephaly cases a year. It is right now investigating some 4,000 cases. The connection between Zika and microcephaly, however, is circumstantial. Scientists are still researching to see if Zika is actually the cause.

WANT TO KNOW: 

Whether the connection between Zika and microcephaly is true or not, many pregnant women in South and Central America are worried. So are their governments. Some governments are even recommending that women postpone getting pregnant for the next two years.

The growing health crisis in Brazil, where the most cases of microcephaly have been reported, has sparked a new public debate over women’s rights to abortion for troubled pregnancies.

Brazil’s 1940 penal code made abortion a crime in all but two cases: pregnancy from rape and when terminating a pregnancy is necessary to save the mother’s life, writesGlobalPost Senior Correspondent Will Carless. The only amendment to those laws came more than 70 years later, in 2012, when the Supreme Court ruled that women could also terminate a pregnancy if the fetus was diagnosed with anencephaly, a rare condition where the child is born missing pieces of the brain and skull.

The sudden reported uptick in microcephaly cases has reinvigorated a cadre of powerful women’s rights activists in Brazil, some of whom are already preparing a fresh appeal to the Supreme Court to consider granting the right to abortion in the case of microcephaly.

It won’t be easy. Abortion is a controversial subject in Brazil, and the country’s political climate is not friendly to the debate. Conservative politicians have even recently pushed for a harsh new bill that would require rape victims to undergo physical exams before being allowed an abortion because, you know, they haven’t been through enough already.

STRANGE BUT TRUE: 

And while everyone is freaking out about Zika, our old friend swine flu has come back for a sentimental and rather deadly visit. In Russia, Ukraine and Armenia, the virus has killed more than 150 people.

Swine flu had its moment in 2009, you might remember, when it grew to a global pandemic and killed tens of thousands. There is no need to panic this time, though. Since 2009, the virus has become a seasonal sickness that can be treated with vaccinations. The WHO says there is no danger of a new pandemic.

That isn’t stopping people in some parts of Russia and Ukraine from wearing surgical masks on public streets. The paranoia is real. One Russian politician even suggested the outbreak was planted by the United States.

This article appeared in globalpost.com