Melbourne: India born Priya Serrao, whose family migrated to Australia from Middle East, has won the Miss Universe Australia title for 2019. Serrao edged past 26 other women from across the country in Melbourne on Thursday night to win the title.  The 26-year-old will now represent Australia in the Miss Universe competition later this year.

“I just want to see more diversity and the fact someone that looks like me and has my background is here is amazing,” Serrao said after her win.  A law graduate who currently works in Department of Jobs, Precincts and regions in Melbourne, Serrao was born in India. Her family later moved to Oman and Dubai before finally settling in Australia.

Serrao said winning the title was a huge surprise for her as it was her first beauty pageant contest. “I have never entered a pageant before and I have never done a modelling before… So this was a huge surprise. I wanted to be a part of the experience,” she added.

Western Australia’s Bella Kasimba and another Victorian Marijana Radmanovic rounded out 2019’s top three, placing second and third.

Sharing photos on social, she wrote, “I still can’t believe everything that’s happened in the last 24 hours. A huge thank you for all your support so far. I can’t wait to get started! “A few days back, while still in the competition, she had shared a photo of herself looking lovely in a blush pink dress, and wrote, “What a great end to my birthday and an even better start to @missuniverseaustralia.official nationals week.”

Courtesy: indianexpress.com

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Pune, Jun 26: A 46-year-old doctor and his teenage daughter have tested positive for Zika virus infection in Pune city of Maharashtra, but their health condition is stable, an official said on Wednesday.

The man recently developed symptoms like fever and rashes, following which he was admitted to a private hospital. The medical facility sent his blood samples to the city-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) for analysis. On June 21, his reports confirmed that he tested positive for Zika virus infection, a health official of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) said.

The doctor is a resident of Erandwane area of the city, he said.

"After he tested positive, the blood samples of his five family members were collected and sent for analysis, and it was found that his 15-year-old daughter was also positive for the infection," the official added.

The Zika virus disease is transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, which is also known to transmit infections like dengue and chikungunya. The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947.

After these two cases were reported in the city, the PMC's health department has started conducting surveillance, the official said.

Although no other suspected cases have been found in the area, the authorities have started taking precautionary steps like fogging and fumigation to curb the breeding of mosquitoes, he said.

"The mosquito samples have been collected by the state health department. We have started the general public awareness in the area and given instructions to monitor the health of pregnant women in the area. Zika does not lead to serious complications in general, but in case a pregnant woman gets infected, it may cause microcephaly in the foetus," he said.