Two septuagenarian men infected with Zika virus in Kolhapur; both have recovered, says official

Two Zika virus cases have been reported from Ichalkaranji in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district, some 500 kilometres from here, the state's health department said on Thursday.

State health surveillance officer Pratapsinh Sarnikar said the cases have been reported in the last fortnight.

"One patient is 78 years old, while another is 75 years old. Both are male and have recovered. One of the patients tested positive after developing symptoms like fever, body ache and rashes," Sarnikar said.

He tested positive for Zika virus in an RTPCR test done at a private hospital, the official informed.

"His samples were sent to the National Institute of Immunology, Pune along with those who had come in contact with him and had also developed symptoms. One of the contacts tested positive," Sanaikar said.

Zika virus, which was first identified in Uganda in 1947, is a disease transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito.