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Dhaka finds a case of Zika , India to start random testing

The Union Health Ministry has decided to start random testing for the Zika virus in patients who show viral fever-like symptoms in the dengue season which starts end of April.

This comes after Bangladesh confirmed the presence of the Zika virus in a sample from a patient admitted in 2014-15 who had tested negative for dengue and chikungunya.

Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that causes fever. The virus is named after the Zika forest in Uganda, where it was identified in rhesus monkeys during a yellow fever outbreak in 1947.Brazilian health authorities in November linked Zika to a surge in babies born with microcephaly, a birth defect that seriously limits a child’s mental and physical abilities. Brazilian officials have registered at least 2,782 cases this year, compared with just 147 in 2014 and 167 the year before.At least 40 of the infants have recently died, and some Brazilian researchers warn that cases could multiply in the months ahead. Those babies who survive may face impaired intellectual development for the rest of their lives.

To read our previous coverage on Zika, click here.

 

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