70-year-old Gandhinagar man contracts Zika virus infection

A 70-year-old man from Gandhinagar contracted Zika virus infection following which he was treated in a hospital and discharged, officials said on Thursday.

While the report confirming that the man was infected with the Zika virus came four days ago, he was sent home from the hospital a week ago after full recovery, said the Gujarat Health Department in a statement.

Zika virus is transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. The symptoms include rash, fever, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain. Zika infection during pregnancy can cause infants to be born with microcephaly and other congenital malformations as well as preterm birth and miscarriage.

On October 24, the septuagenarian was admitted to a hospital in Gandhinagar after he had a cold, fever and joint pain.

He was referred to an Ahmedabad-based private hospital, where doctors sent his body fluid samples to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune over the suspicion that it could be a case of Zika infection, said the release.

Following treatment, the patient recovered and was discharged from the hospital about a week ago, said the statement, adding that the man had not travelled abroad in recent times.

Meanwhile, a report that arrived nearly four days ago from NIV confirmed Zika infection.

As a precautionary measure, health authorities visited the area where the person lives and carried out surveillance and tracking exercises, it said.

No person in the area showed any symptoms of Zika infection, said the statement, adding that samples of his family members turned negative for infection.