No action from government on Zika virus, says Ahmed Patel

Connie Andrews | 29 May, 2017, 05:08

The threat of Zika virus is now active in India, as the World Health Organization has confirmed three cases of Zika infection in Ahmedabad district, Gujarat. This was the first Zika case that was reported.

At a press meet, state chief secretary J N Singh said the first positive case was reported in November 2016 and not in February 2016, as stated by WHO. The patients were a 64-year-old man, a 34-year-old new mother and a 22-year-old pregnant woman. Airport health officers along with the officials from the National Centre for Disease Control and the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme are monitoring appropriate vector control measures at airports.

The virus is particularly deadly while it affects pregnant women (who are known to be an easy target to Zika) and, it can lead to severe issues with the unborn baby - including, issues with brain development and microcephaly.

Earlier on Saturday, Indian Council of Medical Research head also maintained that all three people infected with Zika virus in Ahmedabad were successfully treated. The symptoms mimic that of dengue, with mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pains and headache.

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel on Sunday alleged lack of action from government side after three positive cases of Zika virus were detected in Ahmedabad. The woman had no history of fever during pregnancy and had no history of travel for three months. "The cases are reported below in chronological order", the report read.

As standard protocol, the Union Health Ministry had informed the WHO about the cases on May 15.

In January of 2017, 111 blood samples were gathered and tested during an Antenatal Clinic surveillance at BJMC.

The government said 300 Aedes mosquitoes were collected and sent for testing at NIV, Pune and NIMR Delhi, which were found to be negative for Zika virus as well as for other mosquito caused diseases.

According to the medical journal Lancet, 2.6 billion people living in parts of Asia and Africa could be at risk of contracting the Zika virus.

The WHO had a year ago declared Zika as a public health emergency after South American countries reported babies with microcephaly, a brain malformation marked by low head circumference, born to pregnant women known to have been infected with Zika.

Prevention and control relies on reducing mosquitoes through source reduction (removal and modification of breeding sites) and reducing contact between mosquitoes and people. The mosquito that carries Zika virus - Aedes aegypti - breeds in fresh water so don't let water collect in birdbaths, planters, non-used bottles, containers, discarded waste, tyres etc. During outbreaks, health authorities may advise that spraying of insecticides be carried out. However, it can spread from a pregnant woman to her baby.

Set up protective mesh screens in your doors and windows to prevent mosquitoes from entering your home.

However, the agency did not recommend any curbs on travel to India.

Palestinian hunger striking prisoners plan to observe Ramadan fasting

Mourinho: Griezmann? Ask Ed Woodward

29 May 2017

Joe Biden Tells Cornell Seniors: 'Go Out and Wake Us Up'
Biden revealed that he flew to Germany five years ago to try to convince Murphy to run for office, though he didn't say which office.

28 May 2017

Elvis' Private Jet Set to Be Auctioned After 30 years
Liveauctioneers .com says the jet was owned by Elvis and his father before going to a private owner in New Mexico. It's said that the plane was "One of the first Elvis owned... he spent hundreds of thousands modifying it".

28 May 2017

Fed minutes: Officials back reducing bond holdings this year
Rupkey noted that the jobless rate is already below the 4.7 percent level that the Fed considers as signaling full employment. Economists suggested that the Fed's decision on when to raise rates again will depend heavily on how the job market fares.
28 May 2017

Ex-Senate staffer: Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning has died
He was elected to represent Kentucky's 4th district in 1987 and served for 12 years before his election to the Senate in 1999. He played baseball professionally from 1955 to 1971, mostly with Detroit and Philadelphia.

28 May 2017

New French government unveiled, Le Drian foreign minister
Among names being bandied around for the top job in Macron's first government, speculation mostly centered on Edouard Philippe . When Britain leaves the bloc in 2019, France will be the EU's only member with nuclear weapons and a permanent seat on the U.N.

27 May 2017

US admiral: North Korea's actions 'recipe for disaster'
President Trump says he's willing to make peace through dialogue with North Korea if conditions are right. South Korea wants to reopen communications with North Korea , officials said yesterday.
Palestinian hunger striking prisoners plan to observe Ramadan fasting
Family visits to Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli jails is administered exclusively by the Red Cross . "This is an internal Palestinian issue, not an Israeli-Palestinian issue".

Armed police guarding FA Cup final after Manchester bomb
Let's hope for a positive result and a chance to celebrate another FA Cup win. "I'm ready to do this". The Arsenal pressure was relentless, but they could not find a second goal .

28 May 2017

Ariana Grande Pens Emotional Open Letter Following Fatal Manchester Attack
More information is emerging about Salman Abedi , the man who murdered 22 people outside an Ariana Grande concert . Very wicked, to target that sort of thing", the 91-year-old monarch told 14-year-old Evie Mills and her parents.
Mourinho: Griezmann? Ask Ed Woodward
Mourinho added: "I am really happy with our season, with the trophies, to be back into the Champions League ". United finished 24 points behind champions Chelsea, with a league-high 15 draws.

28 May 2017

Danish gets first win as White Sox top Tigers 3-0
Leon spent the 2016 season in the Mexican League before signing as minor league free agent last winter. "I was actually sleeping". The third inning was his first 1-2-3 inning getting Cabrera to fly out and striking out Martinez and Upton.

28 May 2017

British Airways cancels all flights from Heathrow, Gatwick
Last month Germany's Lufthansa and Air France suffered a global system outage which prevented them from boarding passengers. British Airways (BA) has cancelled all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick until 18:00 BST because of computer problems.

To many Americans, Memorial Day has lost its meaning Veterans Day honors all Veterans who have served in the armed forces - Memorial Day honors people who died while in battle. Monday evening at 6 p.m., the post will offer pizza loin (tenderloin with pizza sauce and cheese) sandwiches for $5.

Salvador Sobral of Portugal wins 2017 Eurovision song contest in Kiev Samoilova was banned from entering Ukraine for three years because of her visit to Crimea in 2015 without a permit from Kiev . The fado-tinged song " Amar Pelos Dois " was performed by 27-year-old Salvador Sobral , who is awaiting a heart transplant.

Totti is not normal - De Rossi emotional after Roma icon's farewell During the post-match ceremony, a huge No. 10 jersey with Totti's name on it was unveiled at the center of the pitch. I will fold it nicely, even if I have to admit I'm not ready to say it's over and maybe I never will be.

Celtic keeping their cool ahead of Scottish Cup final The last time these two met in this competition Aberdeen in fact came out on top, winning 2-1 at Celtic Park in the 5th round of the 2013/14 season.

Fighters Escort American Jet After Attempted Cockpit Breach Department of Homeland Security confirmed both knowledge of the disturbance and Uskanil's detainment through a written statement. They claimed that he was trying to sit in first class when cabin crew approached him, a suggestion that was denied by officials.

Ernie Els penalizes himself after chipping in for eagle at BMW PGA I think that's one thing I've learned in my career is that you're never far away from playing well. "I'm fairly happy. There were three or four bad swings that really cost me any real momentum moving forwards", added Howell.

Music legend Gregg Allman has died, according to his publicist On Saturday, May 27, 2017, a publicist said the musician, the singer for The Allman Brothers Band , has. His love for his family and bandmates was passionate as was the love he had for his extraordinary fans.

VFW to place flags on veterans' graves at Royston cemetery A free concert will follow at 5 p.m.at the John Lyman Center for the Performing Arts at Southern Connecticut State University. Service members will then assemble at the Legion Hall on Bradley Street in Fryeburg by 12:30 p.m. for a 1 p.m. parade start.

CONE Midstream Partners (CNNX) Given Daily News Impact Rating of 0.19 American Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:AMID) stock has moved in a downward direction this week, causing concern for some investors. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. 17,794 are held by Carret Asset Mgmt Lc.

Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 to win record 13th FA Cup Arsene Wenger reiterated that his future will be decided in the coming days after guiding Arsenal to a record-breaking FA Cup win. In the Semi-finals at Wembley Stadium , Chelsea were drawn against fellow Premier League and London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur.

Mass Palestinian hunger strike in Israeli jails ends after visitation deal In late April, hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli prisons started hunger strikes demanding better detention conditions. But the Israeli prison spokesperson reportedly "declined to comment on whether any of the other demands were met".

Samsung Galaxy S8 iris scanner tricked by photo, contact lens Samsung's hopes of competing against archrival Apple's iPhone had been pinned on the Galaxy S8 after last year's Note 7 disaster. This trick fooled the iris recognition feature into acting as the real eye that was put in front of the camera.

Lawyer says Kushner willing to cooperate with investigators The Senate Intelligence Committee said it is issuing new subpoenas for documents from two Virginia-based business entities controlled by Michael Flynn .

Clouds, chance of rain and thunderstorms expected this weekend Even hotter and more-humid air arrives for the weekend as we reach the lower 90s and dew points rise back into the 70s. The snow level will drop to around 9,000 feet on Saturday and up to 4 inches of accumulation is possible.

Trump pushes North Atlantic Treaty Organisation leader aside to get to front of the group President Donald Trump has rebuked his fellow alliance leaders for not being "fair" to the U.S. taxpayers. Allies made a pledge in 2014 to meet the 2% spending target by 2024 as a response to the Ukraine crisis.

No action from government on Zika virus, says Ahmed Patel

Recommended