India asks US health monitor to withdraw or modify Zika outbreak alert

Business Standard: India asked the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to “withdraw or modify” an alert the latter issued cautioning pregnant women against travelling to India lest they risk a Zika infection.

On December 13, the CDC had warned that “an outbreak of Zika has been reported in India” and that the disease is “endemic” in the country.

It added, “Pregnant women should not travel to areas with risk of Zika. This is because Zika infection during pregnancy can cause serious birth defects.”

The CDC had classified the alert as ‘Level 2’, which requires ‘enhanced protection’. Level 1 on its three-tiered list calls for ‘usual precautions’ and Level 3 advises against ‘non-essential’ travel.

However, the Indian government has taken strong exception to the use of the term “endemic” because, it argued, Zika infections have been contained within small areas.

Three cases of Zika infections had been reported in Gujarat last year, and many more in Rajasthan recently.

Balram Bhargava, director of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), told Indian Express, “We have sent a rebuttal to CDC along with all research done on the Zika strain in India, the cases reported, measures taken, etc. We have told them to withdraw or modify the alert.” BS