Zika virus: K’taka issues guidelines to prevent spread; dists neighbouring Ker on high alert

Bengaluru: A day after 14 cases of Zika virus infection was detected in Kerala, the Karnataka government has issued guidelines to prevent the virus from spreading into the State.

The guidelines were issued in an order by the Health Commissioner Trilok Chandra on Friday.

The order states that vector management and larval surveillance to detect Aedes mosquitoes (which are the vector for the virus) should be conducted at household, community and institutional levels.

It also orders authorities to properly and quickly dispose of solid waste so as to eliminate any breeding grounds for the mosquitoes.

Local authorities must collect samples from suspected cases and send them to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Bengaluru for testing, the order further read.

Focus on the presence of microcephaly while conducting ultra-sound scanning of pregnant women. If detected, then the serum sample of the pregnant woman must be sent to NIV for testing, the order adds.

In addition to the guidelines, the district administrations of Chamarajanagar, Dakshina Kannada, and Udupi have sounded high alert.