WHO cautions India against Zika virus

World Health Organization (WHO) has advised India and other South Asian countries to increase surveillance  against Zika virus and take necessary precautionary steps.

It has also urged countries to upgrade the lab facilities for proper detection  of the virus. Indian govt has clearly stated that the virus has not entered India as yet.  A number of the preventive steps have been taken. Centre has issued travel advisory for all international travelers.  Pregnant women especially have been asked to delay or cancel plans of  traveling to a virus-affected region. Union health ministry has said information regarding the disease will be  available at all international airports and harbors. People returning from affected countries have been asked to report fever-like  symptoms to the authorities concerned. Special preventive measures against the virus are being taken in Rio, where  the Olympics are scheduled to take place from 5 to 21 August. The first case virus infection in the US has been reported from Texas. The case, announced by Dallas County health officials, involved a patient  who had sex with someone who had recently returned from Venezuela  infected with the mosquito-borne virus. It is to be noted that over 20 countries have been affected by the virus,  Brazil being the worst affected. (SA)