Zika infection under control: Rajasthan government

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], Dec 20 (ANI): Rajasthan government has said that Zika infection is under control in the state and no positive cases of Zika virus have been reported or found in the state after October 28.
"In the state the situation is under control and no cases of Zika virus infection have been found to be positive after October 28," said the Medical, Health and Family Welfare Department of Rajasthan in a statement.
Rohit Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary, Medical, Health and Family Welfare Department, held a meeting with the officials and senior doctors on Thursday and informed that the strain of Zika virus is a general strain which is harmless.
The disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes, which bite during the day. Symptoms are generally mild and include fever, rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or a headache. Symptoms typically last for two to seven days.
After the outbreak of Zika virus in Rajasthan in October the state government took precautionary measures to control the disease from spreading. Fogging has been done in affected areas on a regular basis where the first case of Zika virus came to light.
According to the Rajasthan government, in the advanced molecular study on Zika conducted by the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, the strain of the Zika virus found in Rajasthan has a very minimal chance of causing fetal microcephaly.
Zika virus infection during pregnancy is a cause of microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects. Microcephaly is a birth defect where a baby's head is smaller than expected when compared to babies of the same sex and age. Babies with microcephaly often have smaller brains that might not have developed properly. (ANI)