JAIPUR: Patients coming to government-run Kanwatia Hospital of Shastri Nagar for treatment of fever will be screened for Zika virus as hospital has constituted a task force on task force in wake of eight Zika positive cases came into light from the area.The hospital will play an instrumental role in intensifying battle against Zika, which is a new disease found infecting at least eight persons in the area. The hospital comes under Sawai Man Singh Medical College. Kanwatia Hospital will collect samples of blood and urine of suspected Zika patients for test in SMS Medical College.Every day, more than 2000 patients come for treatment at out-patient department of the hospital. In such a situation, the hospital has developed a system for segregating suspected Zika cases from other fever cases.From Monday, Kanwatia Hospital will keep a watch on each and every patient suffering from fever. The hospital has prepared a Performa of symptoms of Zika virus infection. If doctors suspect that the fever patient has symptoms of Zika, they will immediately refer the patient to task force on Zika, which was constituted by the Kanwatia Hospital on Saturday.A meeting was held under the leadership of Kanwatia Hospital superintendent Dr L Harshwardhan on Zika on Saturday. The hospital is situated in Shastri Nagar area, where eight cases of Zika virus infection has already been reported.“There are paediatricians, gynaecologists, physicians in the task force. The doctors of the hospital, even orthopedician and ophthalmologists detect such patients with symptoms of Zika virus infection such as rashes, fever and conjunctivitis , will immediately inform the task force on Zika. We will take samples of urine and blood for Zika testing, if we find that the patient is suspected case of Zika,” said Dr Harshwardhan.Also, radiologists of the hospital have also been informed that if they find while conducting sonography of pregnant women that the head of the fetus is small in size in comparison to the normal head size, he will immediately inform the task force.Since, it is a new disease for doctors of Kanwatia Hospital, the health department will organise a sensitisation programme on Zika in Kanwatia Hospital soon. In the sensitisation programme, the doctors will be told about the treatment, symptoms and risk factors along with identifying pregnant women suffering from fever as suspected cases of Zika virus.Since there are higher chances of microcephaly, which is a condition of babies born with underdeveloped brain and other organs, the gynaecologists will also be sensitised properly.“We are reporting cases of fever, rashes, joint pain in increased number from the area. But, they are tested negative for diseases such as chikungunya and dengue. But, there vital parameters are normal such as blood pressure,” Dr Adil Aziz, former associate professor, SMS medical college, and a consultant (medicine) of a private hosptial in Shastri Nagar area.However, the teams of health department are conducting aggressive door-to-door survey of the area, visting multiple times to houses in the area to detect fever cases.

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