A day after the Pune Municipal Corporation reported 66 cases Zika virus infection in last two months, seven more similar cases were reported in Pune City on Thursday, taking the total case tally to 73.
As per reports, so far four patients have died. However, there is still debate over the actual cause of the deaths. Those infected also included 26 pregnant women but most of them are in good health, an official statement said. These four patients were aged between 68 and 78.
"The 66 cases include four deaths, but these deaths were not due to Zika but comorbidities the patients were suffering from....such as cardiac issues, liver ailments, old age. Their reports came positive for the virus from the NIV (National Institute of Virology) after death," the health department official said.
Despite debate over the actual cause of death, Pune Municipal Corporation's health department send their reports to the death audit committee of the Maharashtra government.
In Pune, the first case of Zika this year was reported on June 20 when a 46-year-old doctor and his 15-year-old daughter in the Erandwane area tested positive.
Pregnant women are particularly at risk in case of Zika virus infection as it may cause microcephaly, a medical condition in which the head is significantly smaller due to abnormal brain development, in the foetus.
The virus is transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, which is also known to transmit dengue and chikungunya infections.
