- The Zika virus that infected 159 people in an outbreak in Rajasthan last year, could have been circulating in India for several years and is endemic to Asia, according to a new study published in the journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution this week.
- It suggests that people in the region may have been previously exposed to the virus, building herd immunity that may limit future outbreaks.
- During the latter half of 2018, India recorded its first major Zika outbreaks in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
- Around then, the ICMR said the Rajasthan virus had been sequenced and was closely related to a virus that had caused large epidemics and birth defects in Latin America in 2015.
- Then, in November 2018, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued a press release, citing the NIV’s research, to say that “known mutations” for foetal microcephaly were not present in the Rajasthan strain.
- This week’s publication contradicts the the ICMR’s previous statements in two ways. First, it indicates that the Rajasthan Zika strain is not closely related to the Brazilian one.
- While this is good news, because it implies that a portion of the population could be immune, it could also mean that Zika-related birth defects such as microcephaly were occurring even before the virus was first detected in India.
- While endemicity means that large outbreaks, such as the Brazilian one, may not occur in India, serosurveys are needed to confirm this.
Home Current Affairs Science and Technology Rajasthan Zika strain is endemic to Asia, says new study