Recent National Institute of Virology (NIV) study has found that Indian Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits dengue and chikungunya viruses is easily susceptible to zika virus.

• During the study it was found that Indian Aedes aegypti mosquito infected with African strain MR-766 of zika virus (ZIKV) can easily transmit infection.
• Zika virus is vector borne disease transmitted primarily by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the same mosquito that transmits dengue.
• It can also spread through blood transfusion and sexual contact. It is capable of causing serious birth defects i.e. neurological disorders and foetal deformation known as Microcephaly in which infants are born with abnormally smaller heads.
• Besides a possible link between virus and Guillain-Barré syndrome (a condition in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the nervous system) is also suspected.
• There is no specific treatment or vaccine currently available to treat Zika.
• The best form of prevention is protection against mosquito bites and clearing stagnant water where mosquitoes breed.

In 2013, the first zika virus outbreak was reported in the Marquesas Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It subsequently spread to Brazil in May 2015. In India, three cases were identified in Gujarat and one Tamil Nadu, suggesting that the virus is not new in the country.