Mangaluru's leading Physician Dr. Haroon details everything you need to know about Zika Virus
With the detection of first case of Zika Virus in Karnataka, the people in the state have been vary about the virus and the risks that it comes with. Several media and social media posts have also led to the triggering of panic among the people of the state and neighboring states over a possible outbreak of the virus in the region.
One of the leading Physicians of Mangaluru, Dr. Haroon Hussain, MBBS, MD, and a senior doctor at the Department of Medicine at KMC Hospital Mangalore spoke to Vartha Bharati about the virus, its risks, and possible measures of prevention to help people better understand the Zika Virus.
Speaking to Vartha Bharati, Dr. Haroon said the virus is a member of the virus family Flaviviridae and its name comes from the Ziika Forest of Uganda, where the virus was first isolated in 1947.
“Zika Virus is significant because it poses the highest threat to pregnant women and the fetus. When a pregnant woman is infected with the virus, there are high chances of the fetus developing severe complications including but not limited to birth defects.” Dr. Haroon said.
“It is spread by Aedes mosquitoes and albopictus who majorly bite people during early mornings and during the daytime. These are same mosquitoes that cause Dengue and Yellow Fever.
“An outbreak of this virus was last reported in 2015-16 in South America. Some of the other major sources of transmission apart from mosquito bites are through pregnancy to fetus, sexual transmission, and blood transfusion and organ transplants.” He added.
“What happens is, an infected mosquito bites a person and the virus is transmitted into the blood. The virus then affects other organs of the body and the patient then develops symptoms. Again, what is notable is the symptoms develop in only about 20-25% of people while the remaining patients what develop mild or no symptoms.
“Common symptoms of the infection includes fever, headache, body pain, joint pain and redness of eyes. Patients in rare cases of infection might also experience hearing loss, skin rashes, and in very few cases they may also experience symptoms and issues in heart and brain.” Dr. Haroon added.
When asked about the post-infection complications, Dr. Haroon added that in rare cases patients can also suffer from paralysis but insisted that the number of such cases being recorded are very low.
Detailing about the risks the virus poses to fetus, Dr. Haroon said the virus can critically affect fetus if the mother is in her first or second trimester of pregnancy. In such cases, the fetus can also die, he suggested.
“In most of the cases with pregnancy transmission, it affects the cells that are responsible for the development of the growth of the brain of fetus. So the child is likely to bear abnormally developed brain along with other complications.” he added.
About the measures for prevention of the infection, Dr. Haroon opines there is an immediate need to spread awareness about the virus and its complications adding that people should also be careful and precautious in their own surrounding along with the authorities who need to take strict measures to box the spread in case of an outbreak.
“The best way to prevent Zika is to protect yourself from mosquito bites. Everyone, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, should take steps to prevent mosquito bites. These mosquitoes usually breed in stagnant water, so people should be cautious about that and should immediately get rid of places and spots where water is stagnant. People who travel from areas where the virus is active should take measures to avoid contact with pregnant women and other family members.
“During the first week of infection, Zika virus can be found in the blood and passed from an infected person to another mosquito through mosquito bites. An infected mosquito can then spread the virus to other people. Hence people need to be careful and cautious after travelling etc.” Dr. Haroon further suggested.
The research for the developing of a vaccine for Zika Virus is under the research phase with experts and researchers believing the vaccine will not be widely available for a few more years.
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Airlines got 999 hoax bomb threats till Nov 14 this year; 256 FIRs filed: Govt
New Delhi, Nov 28: Airlines received 999 hoax bomb threats this year till November 14 and as many as 256 FIRs have been filed while guidelines have been issued by aviation security regulator BCAS for objective assessment of threats, the government said on Thursday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said a total of 1,148 hoax bomb threat messages/calls have been received since August 2022 till November 14, 2024 threatening the operations of international and domestic air travel.
While 999 threats were received by airlines during the period from January to November 14, 2024, the count stood at 122 last year and at 27 for the August-December 2022 period.
"256 FIRs have been filed since January 2024 till 14 November 2024, out of which 163 FIRs have been filed during 14 October- 14 November 2024. 12 arrests have been made in view of hoax bomb threat since January 2024 till 14 November 2024," the minister said.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued guidelines for objective assessment of threats. The indicative factor has been useful in reducing time taken by the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) during the decision-making process.
"Also, to reduce the overall time taken for convening BTAC to less than 5 minutes, virtual assembly of BTAC through pre-generated video link has been set up. Further, advisories for compulsory 10 per cent of secondary ladder point check-in for all flights, strict monitoring of non-scheduled flight operations, enhanced security measures and surveillance at cargo terminals were issued," Mohol said.
Further, the minister said the government is considering amending the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023 to put hoax threat messenger in the no-fly list.
"It is also being considered to amend Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation for covering Aircraft in flight as well as on ground, airport etc," he added.
