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Another outbreak: on Rajasthan Zika cases
A proper awareness campaign is vital to contain the Zika outbreak in Jaipur
With 80 laboratory-confirmed cases of the Zika virus already in Jaipur, including 22 pregnant women, the latest outbreak is India’s most severe(गंभीर/तीव्र) so far. In January 2017, three confirmed cases of Zika were reported from Ahmedabad, including(सहित) a pregnant woman, and in July the same year a single case was reported from Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district. Unlike in the case of the Ahmedabad outbreak(प्रकोप/प्रारंभ) that was kept under wraps(लपेटना/छिपाना) by the Health Ministry (even the World Health Organization was informed only in May), there has been more transparency(पारदर्शिता) in the last two instances(घटना/उदाहरण). About 4.5 lakh people at the outbreak site in Rajasthan have been brought under surveillance(निगरानी/रखवाली). While steps to halt(विराम/रोको) mosquito breeding(प्रजनन/पालन)/have been initiated(आरंभ करना/सूत्रपात करना)it is to be noted that controlling the breeding of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits(संचारित/प्रसारित करता है,) the Zika virus, is very challenging. Controlling the spread(फैलाव/विस्तार) becomes even harder( कठिन) as the mosquito is widely prevalent(प्रचलित/दूर तक फैला हुआ) in India, and the infection remains asymptomatic in about 80% of cases, allowing the virus to silently spread from one person to another. It can also spread from a pregnant mother to the foetus(गर्भ).Even when the infection manifests(प्रकट करना/स्पष्ट करना) itself, the symptoms(लक्षण) are very mild and non-specific, making it difficult to correctly and easily diagnose(पहचानना/निदान ) it. A study published in the journal Neurology India found 14 of 90 patients with the Guillain–Barré syndrome (a neurological complication(उलझन/पेचीदगी) seen in Zika-infected adults) in the Puducherry-based Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research tested positive for Zika virus antibodies. Four of the 14 patients also tested(परीक्षण) positive(सकारात्मक) for an anti-dengue antibody. There is a remotepossibility(संभावना/संभव) that the virus is circulating(फैल रहा है/घूमनेवाला) in some parts of India and could cause(कारण/वजह)an epidemic(संक्रमण/प्रकोप) at some point.
It is not clear if the first person (index case) or others who had contracted(अनुबंधित/ग्रहण किया हुआ/संकुचित) the infection had travelled to any country where there is a Zika infection risk. The absence(अनुपस्थिति/अभाव) of travel history outside India in the recent past by any of the infected individuals(व्यक्तियों/शख़्स) indicates the virus is prevalent in the mosquito population. Spread through sex, without multiple instances of infection by mosquitoes is unlikely, given the spurt(वृद्धि/उछाल) in the number of cases within a narrow time window in a small community. Since Zika infection during pregnancy can cause severe birth defects, particularly(विशेषत) microcephaly (small size of the head), all the 22 pregnant women infected must be monitored(नजर रखी/जाँच करना). Also, as there is no cure for microcephaly at birth, there should be campaigns to educate people living in the outbreak area to avoid sex, particularly with the intent(इरादा/हेतु) of getting pregnant, till the outbreak is under control. The long winter ahead in north India and the imminent(निकटस्थ/आसन्न) onset(शुरुआत/हमला) of the northeast monsoon in the eastern coast of India is conducive(अनुकूल/सहायक) for the mosquito to multiply and spread. This calls for a high level of alert.
Important Vocabulary
1.Outbreak(प्रकोप/प्रारंभ)
Synonyms: crash, disruption, epidemic, eruption, explosion
Antonyms: calm, peace, calmness, completion, conclusion
2.Halt(विराम/रोको)
Synonyms: cutoff, freeze, interruption, layoff, letup
Antonyms: continuation, beginning, start, endurance, go
3.Prevalent(प्रचलित/दूर तक फैला हुआ)
Synonyms: common, commonplace, everyday, extensive, frequen
Antonyms: abnormal, different, exceptional, infrequent, irregular
4.Diagnose(पहचानना/निदान
Synonyms: analyze, determine, investigate, pinpoint, pronounce
Antonyms: miss, overlook, misdiagnose
5.Complication(उलझन/पेचीदगी)
Synonyms: complexity, confusion, difficulty, obstacle, problem
Antonyms: advantage, calm, clarity, ease, peace
6.Circulating(फैल रहा है/घूमनेवाला)
Synonyms: circling, moving, rotating, ambient, circulatory
Antonyms: motionless, stationary, still
7.Surveillance(निगरानी/रखवाली).
Synonyms: care, control, examination, inspection, scrutiny
Antonyms: carelessness, ignorance, neglect, negligence, indifference
8.Breeding(प्रजनन/पालन)
Synonyms: development, rearing, training, ancestry, civility
Antonyms: bad manners, crudeness, discourtesy, rudeness
9.Epidemic(संक्रमण)
Synonyms: contagious, endemic, infectious, catching, general
Antonyms: limited
10.Contracted(अनुबंधित/ग्रहण किया हुआ/संकुचित)
Synonyms: consume, decline, decrease, narrow, reduce
Antonyms: develop, enlarge, expand, grow, increase
11.Spurt(वृद्धि/उछाल)
Synonyms: commotion, eruption, explosion, outburst, spate
Antonyms: peace, continuity
12.Onset(शुरुआत/हमला)
Synonyms: commencement, dawning, onslaught, outbreak, outset
Antonyms: conclusion, end, completion, death, ending
13.Imminent(निकटस्थ/आसन्न
Synonyms: forthcoming, immediate, impending, inevitable, likely
Antonyms: avoidable, distant, escapable, later, never
14.Conducive(अनुकूल/सहायक)
Synonyms: helpful, useful, accessory, calculated to produce, contributive
Antonyms: useless, worthless, adverse, discouraging, hindering
