India on alert as zika virus hits tourism hotspot of Jaipur

By Alasdair Pal NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India has sent experts to try to contain an outbreak of the zika virus in the popular tourist destination of Jaipur, capital of the northern state of Rajasthan, with a close watch on pregnant women. Twenty-two people in the city have tested positive, the health ministry said. There is no vaccine to the virus which can cause severe birth defects in unborn children. Pregnant women in the area are being monitored by the National Health Mission, a body set up by the government to improve healthcare across the country. “The situation continues to be monitored regularly,” the ministry said in a statement late on Monday. The Toronto-based International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers said it was advising pregnant travelers to postpone trips to the area, part of India’s tourist “golden triangle” of Delhi, Jaipur and Agra, home to the Taj Mahal. First discovered in 1947, the zika virus reached epidemic proportions in Brazil in 2015,…