Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Zika outbreak in India: Kerala on alert after 15 cases reported

Zika outbreak in India: Kerala on alert after 15 cases reported

AUTHORITIES in the southern Indian state of Kerala have raised an alarm in all districts of the state following the identification of 15 cases of Zika virus. Veena George, the state’s health minister, confirmed the infections that spread in Thiruvananthapuram district where the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram is located.

In a statement on Friday (9), George said that the first identified patient of the Zika virus was a 24-year-old pregnant woman from a town bordering the state of Tamil Nadu, Kerala’s eastern neighbour. The woman was reportedly admitted to a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on June 28 with fever, headache and rashes. She gave birth to a baby on Wednesday (7).


George said the woman’s condition was stable and the delivery was normal. She also added that the victim of the virus had no travel history outside Kerala, BBC reported.

The ongoing monsoon rains have turned the affected areas into “breeding ground for the mosquitoes", she told reporters on Friday.

All the news cases have been reported among healthcare workers in the Thiruvananthapuram district. The samples collected were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune in the western state of Maharashtra.

Kerala health secretary Dr Rajan Khobragade told BBC that the state government had sent teams for “strong surveillance in outbreak areas” which included educating people about the disease, following up with pregnant women and counselling couples.

Zika outbreak when Kerala is battling Covid challenge

The Zika outbreak has given the state’s health authorities a fresh headache since they are amid a challenging battle to contain the second wave of the Covid-19 infections with the test positivity rate still hovering above 10 per cent over the past one week. India’s first case of coronavirus infection was also reported from Kerala in January last year.

This is not the first time that India has reported about the Zika outbreak. In 2017, reports about the outbreak of the same virus were made from the western state of Gujarat. Cases were also reported from Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district the same year. The NIV successfully isolated the Zika virus for the first time in November 2018.

According to the World Health Organisation, Zika is caused by Aedes mosquitoes, known for being active during the day. It was first detected among monkeys in Uganda in Africa in 1947 and was found in humans in 1952 in Uganda and Tanzania. The virus’s outbreak has also been detected in Asia, America and Pacific islands besides Africa.

Researchers, however, discovered that “significant numbers” of people in India had also been exposed to the virus since 33 of the 196 people tested for the new disease had immunity. “It therefore seems certain that Zika virus attacks human beings in India,” they said in a paper which was published in 1953.

Brazil encountered a serious outbreak of the virus in 2015 because of which more than 1,600 children in that country were born with microcephaly, a birth defect where a baby’s head is smaller than normal. The Zika virus is linked to shrunken brains in kids and a rare auto-immune disease known as Guillain-Barre syndrome. It can also be sexually transmitted.

More For You

Rajnath Singh

The council that approved the initiation of procurement for arms and equipment is headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters

India starts process to procure arms worth $12.31 billion

INDIA’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved the initiation of procurement for arms and equipment worth $12.31 billion (£9.05 billion), the defence ministry said on Thursday.

The council is headed by India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk weather

Forecasts indicate that the weekend will be unsettled

Getty Images

Cooler conditions bring relief as UK heatwave ends

Key points

  • UK's second heatwave of 2025 ends with cooler temperatures setting in.
  • Tuesday recorded the year’s highest temperature at 34.7°C in London.
  • No return to heatwave conditions forecast for early July.
  • Showers expected in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, with drier weather ahead.

UK heatwave fades as cooler weather returns

Following a stretch of record-breaking heat, the UK has now entered a cooler phase, with no heatwave conditions forecast for the first half of July. This change comes after Tuesday became the hottest day of the year so far, with 34.7°C recorded in London’s St James’s Park.

However, the high temperatures that marked the start of July have now given way to more comfortable conditions. In many parts of the country, temperatures have dropped by more than 10°C, bringing relief from the extreme heat.

Keep ReadingShow less
Families slam Hancock's 'insulting' care home defence at Covid inquiry

Matt Hancock arrives ahead of his latest appearance before the Covid-19 Inquiry on July 02, 2025 in London, England.(Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Families slam Hancock's 'insulting' care home defence at Covid inquiry

BEREAVED families have condemned former health secretary Matt Hancock as "insulting" and "full of excuses" after he defended the controversial policy of moving untested hospital patients into care homes during the early days of the Covid pandemic.

Speaking at the Covid-19 inquiry on Wednesday (2), Hancock described the decision to discharge patients into care homes as "the least-worst decision" available at the time, despite the devastating death toll that followed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer-Getty

Starmer has said the NHS must 'reform or die' and promised changes that would control the rising costs of caring for an ageing population without increasing taxes. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Starmer outlines 10-year NHS reform strategy

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer will on Thursday launch a 10-year strategy aimed at fixing the National Health Service (NHS), which he said was in crisis. The plan seeks to ease the pressure on overstretched hospitals and shift care closer to people’s homes.

The NHS, which is publicly funded and state-run, has faced difficulties recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. It continues to experience annual winter pressures, repeated waves of industrial action, and a long backlog for elective treatments.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer-Reeves-Getty

Starmer and Reeves during a visit to Horiba Mira in Nuneaton, to mark the launch of the Government's Industrial Strategy on June 23, 2025 in Nuneaton. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Reeves ‘going nowhere’, says Starmer after tears in parliament

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer on Wednesday said that Chancellor Rachel Reeves would remain in her role for “a very long time to come”, after she appeared visibly upset in parliament as questions were raised about her future.

Reeves was seen with tears rolling down her face during Prime Minister’s Questions, after Starmer did not confirm whether she would remain chancellor until the next general election, expected in 2029.

Keep ReadingShow less