The government held its first high-level meeting today in the wake of the spread of Zika virus, amid fears of the infection’s potential to assume pandemic proportions.
A day after WHO warned that Zika virus was spreading “explosively”, a committee of Health Ministry officials and experts has been set up to monitor the situation arising from the spread of the virus.
At the end of the meeting, chaired by Health Minister JP Nadda, the message was: use every means possible to prevent and control the spread of Aedes mosquito, which breeds in clean water. Aedes aegypti is associated with the spread of dengue, chikungunya and now Zika.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and all steps have been initiated to ensure that India is well prepared in case of any eventuality,” Nadda said, with the Indian Council for Medical Research working with its labs to track any potential virus spread.
A technical group has been set up to monitor the situation and advise the government on the steps needed. The government may also write to states to build community awareness around Zika spread and implement prevention steps.
The ministry’s meeting comes ahead of WHO Director-General Margaret Chan deciding to convene an International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on Zika virus and an increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations among babies born to infected mothers.
The committee will meet on February 1 in Geneva to ascertain if the outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Earlier, such an alert was issued for H1N1.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Diseases Control, US, has issued an advisory for pregnant women, asking them to avoid travelling to affected countries. In May, Brazil reported the first case of Zika. Since then, the disease has spread to 22 countries and territories in the region.
