Three more people in Kerala, including a toddler, have tested positive for the Zika virus infection. Those who tested positive on Sunday are a 46-year-old man in Thiruvananthapuram, a 29-year-old woman and a 22-month-old baby. The woman is a healthcare worker.
With this, the number of confirmed Zika infections in Kerala has risen to 18.
Health Minister Veena George said out of the 27 samples which were sent for testing in two batches, 26 have turned out out be negative.
Out of the third batch with eight samples, three were found infected on Sunday.
The minister said the state is equipped to conduct Zika virus tests. In the preliminary stage, tests will be conducted in the labs of the government-run medical colleges in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Kozhikode, and at the Alappuzha unit of the National Institute of Virology. As many as 2,100 PCR test kits have been sent to these labs from the National Institute of Virology, Pune.
Of the 2,100 kits, 1,000 have been given to the Thiruvananthapuram medical college as most of the cases have been reported from the district. Alappuzha NIV has got 500 test kits while Thrissur and Kozhikode medical colleges have received 300 each.
"The Thiruvananthapuram medical college received 500 Triplex Kit which enables the simultaneous detection and differentiation of RNA from dengue virus, chikungunya virus and Zika virus and 500 singleplex kits which can detect Zika virus alone," the Minister said in the release.
Pune NIV has instructed the health department to collect the blood samples of those suspected to have been infected by Zika virus.
"More labs in the state will be provided with testing facilities for Zika virus. We have 27 government labs in the state which can conduct RT-PCR tests and as more test kits reach the state, we will use these labs to carry out test for Zika virus after getting permission from the NIV," the minister said.
She said that instruction has been given to the hospitals to test those patients, especially pregnant women, with fever, rashes and body pain.