Mumbai: The first Zika virus infection case in Maharashtra has been reported from Pune district, officials said on Saturday, while also appealing people not to panic. The woman patient who was diagnosed with the infection has recovered completely, state health department said. "She and her family members do not have any symptoms," it said in a statement.
The 50-year-old woman, a resident of Belsar village in Purandar tehsil, received her test report on Friday. The report said that besides Zika infection, she was also infected by Chikungunya. A government medical team visited the village on Saturday and met the sarpanch and gram panchayat members and instructed them about preventive measures, the statement said.
Zika virus spreads through the bite of the aedes aegypti mosquito and most pf the patients do not have symptoms. The typical symptoms include fever, body ache and conjunctivitis, and pregnant women should be more careful, the statement said.
State surveillance officer Dr Pradip Awate told that there was no need to panic. "Zika is a moderate disease as 80 per cent of patients do not get any symptoms and remaining 20 per cent have moderate flu-like symptoms. One can recover by drinking enough water, taking rest and having a simple paracetamol tablet," he said. Death due to Zika virus infection was unheard of, he added.