India reported 151 Zika virus disease in 2024, highest in Maharashtra: WHO

New Delhi:  India has reported a total of 151 Zika virus disease (ZVD) between January 1 and December 31, 2024, according to the latest update by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The cases were reported from three states — Gujarat, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. Maharashtra reported the highest with 140 ZVD cases, followed by Karnataka (10) and Gujarat (1), said the WHO, citing data from the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), under the Ministry of Health.

“Among the 140 cases, the majority (125 cases) were reported from Pune district, 11 from Ahmednagar district, and one case from each of Kolhapur, Sangli and Solapur districts and Mumbai suburban area,” the WHO update said.

In Karnataka, seven cases were reported from Bengaluru urban district, while three were from Shivamogga district. Gujarat reported one Zika case in Gandhinagar Corporation in 2024.

Zika is an Aedes mosquito-borne viral disease like Dengue and Chikungunya. Although it is a non-fatal disease, when contracted during pregnancy, Zika can cause devastating effects on the developing foetus.

Zika virus gets transmitted to a person through the bite of an infected mosquito. When bitten, the first signs are typically mild and can include fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes.

Microcephaly is one of the most alarming outcomes, where babies are born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains.

However, “no cases of microcephaly and/or Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) associated with this outbreak have been reported” in the last year, said the WHO update.

Notably, the cases reported are the highest in both Maharashtra and Karnataka, since 2021.

“The number of ZVD cases reported in 2024 in Maharashtra state is the highest since 2021 compared with respectively one, three and 18 ZIKV disease cases reported in 2021, 2022 and 2023,” the WHO said, adding that cases in Karnataka were also the highest since the first in 2022.

Meanwhile, the WHO noted that “the number of ZIKV infections among pregnant women is unknown”, as the State IDSP unit does not routinely disaggregate the number of ZVD cases (for example pregnancy status).

–IANS