A day after the Central Health ministry issued detailed guidelines for combating the disease, the district Health department of Gurgaon has started conducting special meetings to discuss preventive measures for Zika virus and has asked private hospitals to spread awareness about the mosquito-borne virus, an official said on Monday.
Gurgaon, being one of the most-visited city by foreign travellers, including those who come to the city for work could make the city more prone to this disease. According to the estimates, in the last one week, a total of 21 cases were confirmed in over 22 countries. India needs to be particularly prepared since the mosquito that carries the virus is Aedes Aegypti, the same type that spreads dengue and chikungunya.
Dr V K Thapar, deputy civil surgeon, vector-borne diseases said, “We are working on the guidelines and have called a departmental meeting on Tuesday to discuss the mechanism for spreading awareness about the disease and taking measures to prevent the virus.”
Doctors, however, say there is no need to panic as the disease has not been reported in India yet, but said Indians have to take extra care to protect themselves. “Since dengue virus is similar to that Zika, there is a need to spread awareness and adopt preventive measures,” said Dr Dhirendra Tyagi, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in the city.
The district Health department has also formed their own guidelines based on the one that the Indian Health Ministry had issued. WHO had declared Zika virus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on February 1. Symptoms of the disease include mild fever, headache, rash, muscle pain, joint pain and conjunctivitis.
According to the Health officials, even though the Delhi airport has been sensitised, they will soon be setting up a system to sensitise the corporate crowd visiting Gurgaon. “We do not have any such case. However, if a situation arises, we have a Rapid Response Team in place to handle the situation,” Thapar added.