Bangalore: After 13 more Zika virus cases were detected in the state, the Karnataka government has issued guidelines to prevent the spread of the disease in the state.
Guidelines:
- As monsoon season allows the proliferation of Aedes mosquito, which is a vector for Zika virus disease, surveillance should be carried in rural and urban areas across the state on a war footing
- Authorities concerned should dispose solid waste to prevent Aedes breeding in peri-domestic areas
- The vector management should include surveillance of larvae, biological and chemical control at household, community and institutional levels
- Aedes larval surveillance and source reduction activities should be held in airports, sea ports and in rural and urban civic wards
- Travel history or visit of guests should be considered for suspecting the disease
- Local authority should collect samples from suspected cases and send them to National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Bengaluru for testing
- During ultra-sound scanning for pregnant women, focus should be given to the presence of microcephaly. If detected, the serum sample of the pregnant women should be sent to NIV for testing.
As Zika cases have been reported in Kerala, border districts like Chamarajanagar, Dakshina Kannada, and Udupi have been to be more vigilant.
The symptoms of Zika are similar to dengue and they include fever, rashes, and joint pain.
Routine surveillance in rural areas by ASHA workers and health assistants and fortnightly surveillance activity in urban wards will be implemented on a war footing in the neighbouring state of Karnataka.
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