Eight cases of Zika virus infection reported in Dhaka this year

Highlights

• Zika has long-term effects
• Most Zika virus infected people do not develop symptoms
• Those infected may later develop Guillain-Barré Syndrome
• Children born to infected pregnant women may have smaller brains, heads
• Zika virus is spread by Aedes mosquitoes

Eight cases of Zika virus infection have been reported in Dhaka in the last three months. 

Professor Tahmina Shirin, Director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control & Research, confirmed the matter to TBS yesterday.

She said all the infected are residents of Dhaka and their condition is stable.

Shirin said in October-November of this year, four individuals tested positive for the Zika virus at a private hospital in Dhaka. They are residents of Dhanmondi, Shyamoli, Baridhara and Bashundhara Residential Area.

Mohammad Shafiul Alam, a scientist at the Infectious Diseases Division of icddr,b, told TBS 155 samples were tested at the icddr,b centres in Mohakhali, Uttara and Dhanmondi; the Zika virus was identified in four individuals in October this year. 

The infected individuals include both men and women, all of whom are adults. The Zika virus was detected through PCR tests conducted to reconfirm samples from individuals who tested negative for dengue.

According to the icddr,b, five Zika patients were identified in the country last year. All were male. 

Alam said Zika is not a severe disease, but it does have long-term effects. Those infected may later develop Guillain-Barré Syndrome, he said. 

Additionally, children born to pregnant women infected with Zika may have smaller brains and heads, said Shafiul Alam. "For this reason, Zika should not be ignored. Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya are all spread by Aedes mosquitoes. Efforts now need to focus on vector control."

He added, "Currently, the city corporations are not actively addressing this issue. The city corporations and local government must become more proactive in mosquito eradication."

Professor Nazrul Islam, a reputed virologist, told TBS that the Zika virus is a risk to the unborn child if the mother is pregnant. Since it is also transmitted sexually, the husband can also be infected and so everyone has to be careful, he said.

There is no alternative to killing mosquitoes to avoid all mosquito-borne diseases, including the Zika virus and dengue, said Prof Islam.
Both dengue and Zika are spread by the bite of Aedes mosquitoes, so more emphasis should be placed on killing mosquitoes, he added.

The Aedes mosquito-borne Zika virus was first identified in the country in 2014.

According to WHO, the Zika virus is transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. Most people with Zika virus infection do not develop symptoms; those who do typically show symptoms such as rash, fever, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise and headache that last for 2–7 days.

Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause infants to be born with microcephaly and other congenital malformations as well as preterm birth and miscarriage.

Zika virus infection is also associated with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, neuropathy and myelitis in adults and children.

In February 2016, the World Health Organisation declared Zika-related microcephaly a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC); and the causal link between the Zika virus and congenital malformations was confirmed. WHO declared the end of the PHEIC in November of the same year.

Although cases of Zika virus disease declined from 2017 onwards globally, transmission persists at low levels in several countries in the Americas and other endemic regions.