13 Zika virus cases have been detected in Kerala, state Health Minister Veena George, said on Thursday, 8 July.

This is the first time Zika virus cases have been detected in Kerala.

"A 24-year-old pregnant woman at a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram district presented with fever, headache and rashes last month.

The first results showed a mild positive sign of Zika virus and later from 19 samples tested, 13 also showed Zika positive," the health minister was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.

All the districts have been alerted about this and measures are being taken, the health minister added.

Meanwhile, all the samples have now been sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune.

In India, the first local outbreak of Zika virus was reported in Ahmedabad in January, 2017. The second outbreak was in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district in July, 2017.

The symptoms are generally mild and include fever, rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache.

Though the infection is not fatal, during pregnancy, it can cause infants to be born with microcephaly and other congenital malformations, known as congenital Zika syndrome, the WHO said.

Infection with Zika virus is also associated with other complications of pregnancy including preterm birth and miscarriage.

Meanwhile, an increased risk of neurologic complications is associated with Zika virus infection in adults and children, including Guillain-Barré syndrome, neuropathy and myelitis.

(With inputs from agencies.)