New Delhi: Except the three laboratory-confirmed cases reported from Ahmedabad, no other case for Zika virus has tested positive, confirms the government.
The health ministry said that the ongoing laboratory-based surveillance in India has so far tested 36,613 human samples and 16,571 mosquito samples for the presence of Zika virus, and apart from the three, none has tested positive.
All the measures to contain local transmission has been carried out in the affected area, as a matter of "abundant caution", the ministry said in a statement issued late tonight.
The World Health Organization (WHO) had recently confirmed three cases of Zika virus, including a pregnant woman, reported from Gujarat's Ahmedabad, the first in the country.
"As a matter of abundant caution, measures to contain local transmission were carried out in the affected areas. No further samples taken during antenatal screening and acute febrile illness surveillance have tested positive for Zika virus disease."
"The ongoing country-wide Zika laboratory based surveillance in India has so far tested 36,613 human samples and 16,571 mosquito samples for the presence of Zika virus. No other sample has been tested positive apart from the three laboratory confirmed cases reported from Ahmedabad," it said.
It said that the WHO was notified of all the three Zika virus disease cases on May 15 this year.
On November 18 last year, the WHO had declared that Zika disease infection no longer constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
"Since WHO had already withdrawn the notification of Zika virus disease as a PHEIC, the case was handled as per our existing protocol," the ministry said.
It said cases of vector-borne disease (VBD), mainly dengue and chikungunya, were noticed in Gujarat during post-monsoon period last year.
The state government had accordingly planned fever surveillance, vector surveillance and intense vector control activity. One of the blood samples collected during laboratory surveillance during this period from Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation limits tested positive for Zika virus.
(With PTI inputs)
