India hit with its biggest outbreak of Zika to date, with 32 confirmed cases

India has recorded its biggest outbreak of Zika virus to date, with 32 cases confirmed in Jaipur, capital of the western state of Rajasthan. The first case was confirmed on September 23 in the city's Shastri Nagar area, located close to some of the city's main tourist attractions. The country's health minister, JP Nadda, has deployed a seven-member team to Jaipur to continually monitor the situation and assist with control and containment operations.
The number of suspected cases cannot be estimated, said Veenu Gupta, the Additional Chief Secretary of the Medical and Health & Family Welfare Department for the state, adding that samples are being collected daily from all residents in a three kilometer radius. "Those who test positive are reported."
Those suspected to have contracted the virus are currently being tested. Mosquito samples from the area will also be examined.
"We have to do a very intensive survey within a 3 kilometer radius of where the first case was recorded," said Gupta, adding that there are 58,000 households in the affected area and 100 to 150 teams are being deployed every day to identify cases of fever, pregnant women and mosquito breeding sites.
The teams have so far surveyed 43,000 houses and the state government is also ramping up efforts to raise awareness about the virus and how it can be prevented.
This is India's third outbreak since 2017.
The first was reported in Ahmedabad in the western Gujarat state around January 2017 with three confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization.
Months later in July, a second outbreak was reported in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. According to local media reports, one man tested positive for the virus. Both outbreaks were contained.