Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The southern Indian state of Kerala has issued a warning after detecting the Zika virus. This has been confirmed by local officials. This report comes as India is still battling the coronavirus pandemic.
“There are 13 suspected cases and are being investigated,” State Health Minister Veena George said today, citing Al Jazeera, Friday (9/7).
A 24-year-old pregnant woman was found to be infected with a mosquito-borne disease and is undergoing treatment at a Thiruvananthapuram city hospital. Samples from the 13 cases have also been sent for further investigation to a laboratory in Puna.
The minister mentioned that pregnant women are very vulnerable and can transmit the infection to their unborn baby. Which results in the condition Guillain-Barre syndrome or a rare autoimmune disease.
It can also cause birth defects such as microcephaly, which causes babies to be born with smaller heads due to brain developmental disorders.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, Zika disease itself is mostly spread from the bite of the Aedes mosquito, but can be transmitted sexually.
The virus was first discovered in monkeys in the Zika forest, Uganda in 1947 and has caused several outbreaks around the world in decades.
To date, there is no vaccine or antiviral drug available for prevention or treatment. The World Health Organization (WHO) also declared the disease an international public health emergency in 2016.
Symptoms include fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain but death is rare.
Indian officials said the infected woman in Kerala was showing symptoms of fever, headache and rash before being admitted to hospital. The place where she gave birth to her baby last Wednesday. But the health team was assigned to continue to monitor further cases.
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