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The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Saturday identified three more pregnant women with the Zika virus infection. This takes the count of infected pregnant women to five, while the total number of cases in the city is 9.
“We have stepped up our surveillance activities. Samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology as part of screening pregnant women from areas where Zika cases were detected. Over all, 68 samples from pregnant women have been sent to the apex laboratory,” Dr Rajesh Dighe, assistant chief medical officer, PMC, said
The civic health department has levied a fine of Rs 10,000 on the builder of a society in Mundhwa after a mosquito breeding site was located in a duct. “A 33-year-old woman who is 8 weeks pregnant stays in this society and while she is asymptomatic, our team has visited the family and counselled them,” Dr Dighe said.
“We have advised the woman to get a nuchal translucency (NT) scan, which is an ultrasound that measures the amount of fluid behind the baby’s neck in the first trimester of pregnancy. She has been asked to consult her doctor, take folic acid tablets as directed and undergo the NT screening test to check whether the baby is at risk of any congenital conditions and if further tests are required,” Dr Dighe told The Indian Express.
A 27-year-old woman from Ambegaon Bk, Sinhagad road, who is in her 12th week of pregnancy, and a 28 year old woman from Pashan/Aundh were detected to have Zika virus infections. The 28-year-old woman, who had a fever and rash, was admitted to a private hospital while the woman from Ambegaon had symptoms like headache.
All nine patients who were detected with zika virus infection are stable, health officials said. Since Zika is associated with microcephaly and neurological consequences in the foetus of the affected pregnant woman, doctors have been urged to ensure close monitoring. Health officials have yet again appealed to citizens to empty water containers, air coolers and ensure that there are mosquito breeding sites within their homes.
The civic health department has collected fines to the tune of Rs 84,800 from societies and under construction sites where mosquito breeding sites have been identified. As many as 92 notices have been issued against the defaulters.
