66 cases of Zika virus infection found in Pune city since June

Pune: At least 66 cases of Zika virus infection have been reported in Pune city in the last two months, civic officials said on Tuesday.

Four of these patients died, but the cause in each case was not the Zika infection, a senior health official told PTI.

Those infected also included 26 pregnant women but most of them are in good health, an official statement said.

The first case of Zika virus infection in the city this year was reported on June 20 when a 46-year-old doctor in the Erandwane area tested positive. Subsequently, his 15-year-old daughter too tested positive for the infection.

"The 66 cases include four deaths, but these deaths were not due to Zika but comorbidities the patients were suffering from....such as cardiac issues, liver ailments, old age. Their reports came positive for the virus from the NIV (National Institute of Virology) after death," the health department official said.

These four patients were aged between 68 and 78.

The Pune Municipal Corporation's health department would, nonetheless, send their reports to the death audit committee of the Maharashtra government, the official added.

"So far, no death due to Zika has been reported in the country," he said.

Zika virus in pregnant women may cause microcephaly (a condition in which the head is significantly smaller due to abnormal brain development) in the foetus.

The virus is transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, which is also known to transmit dengue and chikungunya infections.

"The PMC health department is conducting surveillance. As a precautionary measure, it is taking measures such as fumigation to curb the breeding of mosquitoes," the statement added.