Over 200 docs trained to deal with possible outbreak of Zika virus

KATHMANDU, Feb 1: Although Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD) had said that there was no immediate threat from Zika virus in the country, the office has provided training to over 200 doctors to deal with any possible infection.

The EDCD, which comes under the Department of Health Services (DoHS), said that it has also requested the World Health Organization (WHO) for reagent and training for diagnosis of the disease."We have provided training to over 200 doctors serving at government hospitals across the country," Dr Baburam Marasini, director at the EDCD, said. He informed that the EDCD has also requested the WHO for test kits for diagnosing the disease. He maintained that there was no immediate threat from the virus in Nepal as the disease is less likely to spread in cold weather condition.

He, however, said that the risk of an outbreak during warm weather exists as the carrier of the virus, aedes aegypti mosquito, the same vector that transmits dengue and chikungunya, has been found in the country.

The vector had been found even in Kathmandu valley in significant numbers during the surveillance carried out by various government agencies like EDCD and District Public Health Office (DPHO), Kathmandu in the past.

According to Dr Marasini, only the infected aedes aegypti mosquitos transmit the disease. "When an aedes aegypti mosquito bites an infected person it becomes a potential source of infection," he added.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that illness caused by the virus is similar to a mild form of dengue fever and cannot be prevented by drugs. Health agencies investigating the impact of the virus have linked it to microcephaly, which means birth defects. Pregnant women infected with Zika virus give brith to babies with unusually smaller heads. In severe cases, babies with microcephaly may have seizures, vision problems and developmental disabilities.

Other symptoms include fever, rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain and headache. The symptoms usually appear within three to 12 days of infection.

Hundreds of people were infected by the virus in Brazil in 2015. As per the WHO, infections have been reported from 21 countries of South and North America.

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