India on the alert as Zika virus strikes tourist hotspot in Jaipur

By Alasdair Pal

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India has sent experts to try to contain the Zika virus outbreak in the popular tourist destination of Jaipur, capital of the state of Rajasthan, in the north of the country , keeping a close watch on pregnant women.

Twenty-two people in the city had a positive test, the Ministry of Health announced. There is no vaccine against the virus that can cause serious birth defects in unborn children.

Pregnant women in the area are overseen by the National Health Mission, a government-created agency to improve health care across the country.

"The situation continues to be subject to regular monitoring," the ministry said in a belated statement Monday.

The Toronto-based International Association for Medical Assistance for Travelers said it was advising pregnant women to postpone travel to the region, which is part of the "golden triangle" of Indian tourists, Delhi, Jaipur and Agra , which houses the Taj Mahal.

Discovered for the first time in 1947, the zika virus reached epidemic proportions in Brazil in 2015, when thousands of babies were born with microcephaly, a brain abnormality affecting speech and motor skills.

This is the third such outbreak in India, the first in Ahmedabad in January 2017 and the second in the state of Tamil Nadu (south) in July 2017. Both outbreaks were " controlled, "the government announced.

According to the World Health Organization, the latest cases – in the midst of the country's holiday season, where many Indians are traveling, increase the risk of transmission – among other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes who kill thousands of people each year in India.

The capital, Delhi, has reported an increase in the number of dengue cases, with 169 reported during the first week of October and a total of 650, according to NDTV, citing figures from the South Delhi municipality that follows diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. .

(Edited by Sanjeev Miglani and Nick Macfie)