NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — The minister ordered to establish a technical group to monitor the developments arising out of spread of the Zika virus in other countries.
"We are closely monitoring the situation and all necessary steps have been initiated to ensure that India is well prepared in case of any eventuality," the minister told journalists after a high-level meeting at the Health Ministry on the prevention of the Zika virus in India.
The Zika outbreak originated in Brazil and spread across Latin America. The virus transmitted by daytime-active mosquitos affects primarily monkeys and humans, without causing serious complications in adults, however, it can lead to babies being born with microcephaly, a type of brain defect.
The World Health Organization (WHO) expects that the Zika virus will infect up to 4 million people, a senior WHO official said on Thursday.
