Three zika cases reported in Madhya Pradesh
New Delhi, Nov 2 : Three persons, including a seven-month-old child, have tested positive for Zika in Madhya Pradesh, a central expert team, which had gone to the state Thursday to assess the cases, has confirmed.
The central team comprising of experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Emergency Medical Response (EMR) are in the state following information about three persons being detected with Zika virus, a Health Ministry official said.
The seven-month-old child was found positive in Sehore district and a 14-year-old girl in Char Imli locality in Bhopal. The details about the third person were not immediately available, he said.
"Because the symptoms of Zika infection are similar to that of dengue and spreads through mosquito bites, it raises concerns," the official said.
The central expert team is assisting the Madhya Pradesh government to replicate the measures and action plan, implemented in Jaipur and Ahmedabad, in the state to contain the Zika outbreak, he said.
The official said the state health department has been asked to keep a close watch on people suffering from symptoms of the mosquito-borne disease.
Meanwhile, an intensive screening exercise is being undertaken and vector control measures have been intensified at Ahmedabad after the first case of the mosquito-borne disease was detected this year in Gujarat.
Also, an advisory has been issued to district administrations to take measures to check mosquito breeding.
The state health department has advised pregnant women not to visit the affected areas.
Zika virus, transmitted through the aedes aegypti mosquito, causes fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain. It is harmful to pregnant women, as it can lead to microcephaly, a condition in which a baby's head is significantly smaller than expected, in newborn children.
During the latest outbreak of the virus in the country, the first case surfaced on September 22, when an 85-year-old woman with no recent travel history tested positive for the virus in Jaipur. Since then, the number of Zika cases have risen to 153 in Rajasthan.
In India, the first outbreak of Zika virus was reported in Ahmedabad in January 2017 and the second in Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri district in July that year. Both these outbreaks were successfully contained through intensive surveillance and vector management.
The disease is under surveillance of the Union Health Ministry although it is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern under the WHO notification since November 18, 2016.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
