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Five Karnataka villages come under surveillance after Zika virus outbreak.
The Karnataka Health Department, which is closely monitoring the situation in Chickballapur after a mosquito pool in Thalakayalbetta village of the district was found to be positive for Zika
Zika Virus
Zika virus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that can cause Zika fever.
Zika fever is a usually mild illness with symptoms such as fever, rash, muscle and joint pain, conjunctivitis (red eyes), headache, and malaise.
Most people with Zika virus infection do not develop symptoms.
Zika virus is transmitted to humans primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito.
Aedes mosquitoes are also the same mosquitoes that transmit dengue fever, chikungunya, and yellow fever.
Zika virus can also be transmitted through sexual contact with an infected person, from a pregnant woman to her fetus, and through blood transfusion.
Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause serious birth defects.
Zika virus was first identified in 1947 in a rhesus monkey in the Zika Forest of Uganda.
The first human case of Zika virus infection was reported in 1952 in Nigeria.
The first report of Zika virus infection in India was in Nov 2016, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
There is currently no licensed vaccine for Zika virus infection.
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