The health department of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to test all pregnant women living in areas affected by the Zika virus. This decision was announced on Monday through a letter sent to all zonal medical officers, hospital superintendents, and medical officers. The health officer of PMC, Dr. Kalpana Baliwant, shared this update.
Recently, a report from July 12 stated that despite guidelines from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), which require mandatory testing of all pregnant women in Zika-affected areas, PMC had only tested 5% of the expecting mothers from these zones.
Dr. Suryakant Devkar, assistant health officer of PMC, stated, “We want to test the maximum number of expecting mothers from active Zika virus transmission areas. The blood and urine samples of the pregnant women will be sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune for testing.”
Since June 20, PMC has reported 21 cases of Zika virus, including 10 pregnant women. Currently, the Zika virus is actively spreading in eight ward offices: Karve Nagar-Warje, Hadapsar, Kothrud-Bavdhan, Aundh-Baner, Singhgad Road, Nagar Road, Kondhwa-Yewalewadi, and Yerawada. There are 2,408 pregnant women in these Zika-affected areas who are registered with PMC-run hospitals for antenatal care. However, only 167 (7%) of them have been tested for the virus.
According to the central guidelines, all pregnant women in Zika-affected areas should have two ultrasound examinations. The first ultrasound should be done at 18-20 weeks of pregnancy, and the second should be between 28-30 weeks.
On Monday, PMC reported a suspected Zika virus case in a 23-year-old pregnant woman from Paud Phata. The woman, who is five months pregnant, first visited a private clinic in Kothrud with symptoms like fever and rash. She later went to Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital for treatment.
A senior PMC official said, “We have received the reports from the private laboratory. Surveillance has been started in this area and her samples will be sent to NIV to confirm the virus infection.”
Dr. Kalpana Baliwant mentioned that 11 samples of suspected patients have been sent to NIV, Pune. Out of these, 10 samples are from pregnant women, with eight samples from Kalas and one each from Pashan and Dahanukar Colony.
PMC is taking these steps to ensure the safety and health of expecting mothers during this Zika virus outbreak.