Wisdom prevailed at State health officials’ end, who finally woke up to the health hazards of Zika virus after its recent outbreak. The virus poses significant threat to infants born from infected mothers. Here, the department released advisories requesting people of Jharkhand to exercise greatest degree of caution to avoid viral infection.
The Department of Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare has also shot off letters to district administration to take precautionary measures from their end and ensure that the carriers of the virus are quarantined for medical checkup. The department launched helpline number (104) for medical counselling.
“Guidelines have been sent to all the districts to take steps to eliminate mosquitoes. We are equipped with medicines and other facilities to deal with cases of Zika which a little bit similar to dengue,” said Director-in-Chief of Health Services, Dr Pravin Chandra.
The virus is transmitted through Aedes Aegypti which thrives in the State and also causes dengue, chikungunya which have been reported in Jharkhand. According to reports, the virus becomes a formidable threat with rising temperature in tropical condition and as the temperature is heading north the department chipped just in time to take stake holders on board to prevent outbreak of microcephaly, a rare, incurable condition which results in the birth of babies with abnormally small heads.
Nonetheless, cleanliness which is one effective way to prevent spread of the mosquito and hence all the related diseases, including Zika have gone for a toss. Even as overflowing drains and stagnant water in every nook and cranny are safe heavens for the mosquito to multiply and hit the human population subsequently in huge numbers, fogging which is potent ammunition to combat the carriers of Zika virus is yet to start. Fogging which controls mosquito even when it starts could be rarely seen in areas inhabited by commoners which has been once again note of by the Ranchi Municipal Corporation and it is claimed that it has been stopped for giving special treatment to a select few while a large number of population lay exposed to the virus.
“We stopped fogging as it was being done in VIP areas and not in general areas. Fogging will resume in 11 zones from next month and it will be done according to the roster,” said Deputy Mayor, Sanjeev Vijaywargiya, adding “we are spreading bleaching powder on stagnant water. So this is not true that we are not doing anything to control mosquito”.
The Ranchi Municipal Corporation maintains a fleet of 11 fogging machines, however, operating them has become a tough job for the cash strapped municipal corporation. Vijaywargiya added that the cost of operation of one fogging machine is around `5-lakh which is too difficult to meet in the absence of funds.
The virus gets its name from the Zika forest in Uganda, Africa, where it was first identified in rhesus monkeys in 1947. The most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Other symptoms include experiencing muscle pain, headache, pain behind the eyes, and vomiting. The virus causes a painful but temporary rash in adults. The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week.