Researchers have finally unraveled the cause of the mystery illness that struck Karachi back in 2021 finding that the Zika virus was behind the disease that had affected hundreds of people in the country’s financial hub.
United World Antiviral Research Network (UWARN) Principal Investigator Dr Najeeha Talat Iqbal, while speaking to The News, revealed that the investigators at Aga Khan University (AKU) in Karachi detected two cases of the Zika virus in 2021 during an outbreak of a mysterious viral illness which was later confirmed through metagenomics at the Gale Lab at the University of Washington in Seattle.
“During our study, we confirmed the presence of the Zika virus in Pakistan, which had not been previously detected,” said Dr Talat while referring to a study involving patients with acute viral illnesses between the ages of 1 and 75 from AKU wards, outpatient clinics, and physician referrals.
Meanwhile, 44 patients, from the Arbovirus cohort, were enrolled out of which six of whom were NS1 negative with acute febrile illness, vomiting, and diarrhoea. These cases were enrolled between August and November 2021, she added.
The revelation comes as the publication, back in November 2021 had reported the spread of a dengue-like disease with symptoms including fever and reduced platelets and white blood cell count.
However, the affected patients back then tested negative for dengue virus.
During its investigation, the UWARN — a multi-centre study involving Pakistan, Senegal, South Africa, Brazil, and Taiwan — commenced its investigation and detected two single and two mixed infections of Zika and Dengue confirmed by serology and PCR in 2021 and 2022.
It is to be noted that the Zika virus, as per the World Health Organisation (WHO), is transmitted via Aedes mosquitoes’ bite.
Though most people do not reflect any symptoms when affected by it, some develop rash, fever, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise and headache that can last anywhere from two to seven days.
