Centre rushes team to Maharashtra after 1st Zika case reported

The Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare on Monday rushed a multi-disciplinary team to Maharashtra, after a case of Zika virus was reported from its Pune district recently.

The team has been tasked to monitor the Zika virus situation and support the State government in the management of Zika cases.

The three-member central team consists of a public health expert from the office of Regional Director, Pune; a gynecologist from Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi; and an entomologist from National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR), ICMR, New Delhi.

The team will work closely with the State Health Department, take a stock of the situation on the ground and assess whether the Union Health Ministry’s Action Plan for Zika Management is being implemented, and recommend necessary public health interventions for the management of Zika in the state.