Zika Virus Epidemic in Rajasthan, India: Current Perspective

Subhashish Das

Professor of Pathology, Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Kolar, India

Dr. Subhashish Das, Department of Pathology, Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Kolar, India.

Keywords: Zika Virus; Flaviviruses; Antibodies

Abstract

Zika, a flavivirus spread mainly by mosquitoes, belongs to the same genus as dengue and chikungunya. Some evidence that Zika has been in India for long comes from a 1954 survey, which found several Indians with Zika antibodies. However, this evidence wasn’t conclusive, because other flaviviruses, like dengue, can also trigger Zika - neutralising antibodies. The first confirmed Indian case occurred in 2016 in Gujarat. Later, three more cases were detected, before the 2018 Rajasthan outbreak. Despite its long presence in Asia, Zika outbreaks in this region have been benign. This changed with a large French Polynesian outbreak in 2013 and a larger Brazilian one in 2015 [1].

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