Lok Sabha Question No. 170 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-12-15
Subject: Zika Virus
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: NISHIKANT  DUBEY, RAVINDRA KUMAR PANDEY, ELUMALAI VELLAIGOUNDER, MOHANBHAI KALYANJIBHAI KUNDARIYA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 170 TO BE ANSWERED ON   15 TH DECEMBER, 2017

## ZIKA VIRUS

## 170. SHRI NISHIKANT DUBEY:

SHRI RAVINDRA KUMAR PANDEY:

SHRI V. ELUMALAI:

SHRI KUNDARIYA MOHAN BHAI KALYANJI BHAI:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a warning regarding spread of Zika virus in Asian Countries including India;
- (b) if so, the details of the action plan of Government to prevent the virus from spreading in India;
- (c)  whether  the  country  has  the infrastructure  and  expertise  for  testing  and treating  persons infected with Zika virus; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SMT. ANUPRIYA PATEL )

- (a) : World  Health  Organization(WHO)  declared  Zika  virus  disease  to  be  a  Public  Healt Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 1 st February, 2016 following outbreak of Zika Virus  Disease  in  Brazil  and  other  Latin  countries  and  its  association  with  birth (Microcephaly) in new born. Further, World Health Organization declared that it ceased to be Public Health Emergency on 18 th November, 2016.
- (b): The  Zika  action  plan  of  Ministry  of  Health  &  Family  Welfare  has  a  three  pronge strategy of
- I. surveillance at points of entry and with community
- II. Early detection and containment of the outbreak and
- III. Pragmatic  approach  for  management  through  merger  with  National  Vector  Borne Disease  Control  Programme  (NVBDCP),  if  India  becomes  endemic  for  Zika  Virus Disease.
- (c) & (d): There are 27 laboratories in Government Sector that can test Zika virus disease ( An nexure ) . The laboratory personnel in these laboratories are trained. Zika virus disease is a mild febrile illness which requires only symptomatic treatment for fever, body -ache etc.

## Laboratories having capacity for testing Zika virus disease .

|   1. | King Institute of Preventive Medicine, Chennai, Tamil Nadu                  |
|------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    2 | NIV Field Unit, Allapuzzha, Kerala                                          |
|    3 | Manipal Centre for Virus Research, KMC, Manipal                             |
|    4 | BJ Medical College, Ahmedabad                                               |
|    5 | Regiona l Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneshwar                             |
|    6 | National Institute for Cholera & Enteric Diseases, Kolkata                  |
|    7 | King George Medical University, Lucknow                                     |
|    8 | Regional Medical Research Centre, Dibrugarh                                 |
|    9 | RegionalMedical Research Centre, Jabalpur                                   |
|   10 | Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Education & Research,                 |
|   11 | Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, (VRDL) |
|   12 | Desert Medical Research Centre, Jodhpur (ICMR)                              |
|   13 | Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi,Kerala                          |
|   14 | Sri Venkatswara Institute of Medical Science, Tirupati Andhra .             |
|   15 | Gandhi medical College, Secunderabad, Telangana (VRDL) .                    |
|   16 | R ajendra Memorial Research Institute of Me dical Sciences, Patna(VRDL).    |
|   17 | All India Institute Of Medical Sciences, Bhopal Madhya Pradesh .            |
|   18 | The Tamil Nadu Dr. M. G. R Medical university, Chennai Tamil Nadu,          |
|   19 | All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Raipur Chhattisgarh                |
|   20 | All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi                          |
|   21 | Institute of Preventive Management, Hyderabad                               |
|   22 | Haffkine Institute , Mumbai                                                 |
|   23 | NIMHANS, Bengaluru                                                          |
|   24 | Central Research Institute, Kasauli                                         |
|   25 | NEIGRIMS, Shillong                                                          |
|   26 | National Institute of Virology, Pune                                        |
|   27 | National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi                                  |