'Kerala reported 65 Zika virus cases till Aug 2'

New Delhi: The threat of Zika virus spread is still looming large as Kerala alone has reported 65 Zika virus cases till August 2, 2021. In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said Sabha on Friday that the state capital Thiruvananthapuram has reported 61 such cases, while two cases have been reported in Ernakulam and Kottayam and Kollam districts of the state has reported one case each.

Elaborating on the measures taken by the government, Mandaviya said that the Health Ministry has prepared and widely disseminated Zika action plan, detailing control and containment activities to be followed in the event of an outbreak.

The ministry conducts vector surveys through regional offices of the Health Ministry in international airports and their surroundings in the country, he said, adding that the Central Cross Checking Organisation (CCCO) of NVBDCP carries out entomological surveys in the assigned international airports of the country to maintain Aedes breeding free status.

Advisories are issued to all states and UTs for intensification of vector control activities and availability of insecticides and functioning of fogging machine status is monitored through monthly reports from the state, he said.

Surveillance for microcephaly in newborns is being undertaken under the Ministry of Health's Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), he told the House.