10 pregnant women infected with Zika deliver healthy babies
As many as 10 pregnant women from Pune who had earlier tested positive for the Zika virus infection have delivered healthy babies, bringing relief to their families and the health department, officials said on Wednesday. These deliveries were reported between September and October.
Pune city reported its first Zika virus case this year on June 20, and to date, there have been as many as 107 confirmed Zika virus cases, including 45 pregnant women.
Dr Rajesh Karyakarte, Maharashtra coordinator for genome sequencing and head of the Microbiology department at BJ Medical College, said, the Phylogenetic analyses show that the Asian lineage is responsible for recent epidemics.
“Incidents of Microcephaly or congenital malformations in babies due to Zika virus have not yet been reported in the country. The virus continues to mutate and studies are ongoing to identify the mutation or new virus variant in circulation. However, few and poor quality of samples are a challenge to conduct whole genome sequencing studies,” Dr Karyakarte said.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) health officials have been monitoring these expecting mothers and anomaly scans of the remaining 34 pregnant women are normal. However, a 33-year-old woman from the Hadapsar-Mundwa ward who was 13 weeks pregnant has undergone termination of pregnancy although doctors claimed it wasn’t due to Zika.
According to Dr Rajesh Dighe, assistant health officer of PMC, the woman who has terminated the pregnancy is due to unknown reasons.
“The termination has nothing to do with the Zika virus infection. Currently, both the new mothers and babies are in good health and reportedly all babies are free from any deformity,” he said.
According to Dr Sunita Tandulwadkar, head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Ruby Hall Clinic, the Zika virus can significantly affect pregnancy and may lead to serious birth defects.
“The main concern lies in microcephaly, a condition where the baby’s head is smaller than normal, potentially resulting in brain damage. Besides, the Zika virus can lead to developmental delays, as well as vision and hearing problems,” added Dr Tandulwadar.
Following the Zika virus outbreak in the city, Dr Radhakrishnan Pawar, the then joint director of health services and state head of the vector-borne disease control programme, had issued orders to PMC to conduct surveillance and contain mosquitoes breeding within a five-kilometre radius of the affected area.
“Before 2015, ZIKV infections were mainly limited to Africa and Asia, where symptoms were mild and not associated with serious pathology. However, the Zika virus outbreak in Brazil in 2015 drew international attention to ZIKV due to its correlation with severe neurological impairments, including microcephaly and Guillain–Barré syndrome,” informed Dr Karyakarte.
Dr Nina Borade, health chief of PMC said the health department is monitoring the health of all expecting mothers who had tested positive for the Zika virus in the past.
“As per the government guidelines the expecting mothers are suggested to undergo two ultrasound examinations. Serial ultrasonography, if required, should be at the discretion of the treating gynaecologist and concerned radiologists,” she said.
