TIL Desk/National/Jaipur/ As the number of people infected with Zika virus rose to 72 in Rajasthan, the Union Health Ministry Monday asked states to check mosquito breeding and intensify vector control strategies to contain the spread of the disease.
Sanjeeva Kumar, Additional Secretary (Health), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare held a meeting with various state representatives through video conferencing. He asked them to implement the guidelines as prescribed under the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme for effective control of Zika.
“States have been asked to intensify vector control strategies which include anti-larvae activities and fogging, and also follow the guidelines as prescribed under the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme for effective control of Zika virus disease,” a health ministry official said.
States have also been asked to strengthen their surveillance systems. Zika is caused by aedes aegypti mosquito which also transmits dengue and chikungunya and breeds in open stagnant water. Twelve new cases of Zika virus were detected in Jaipur Monday, taking the total number of infected people to 72. “Sixty out of the total 72 patients are healthy after treatment,” a Rajasthan health department official said.
