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Published on: Jul 09, 2021
4 minute read
By: Dr Rajan Choudhary

Important Questions About Zika Virus Answered

Q: What is Zika?

A: Zika virus disease is caused by the Zika virus, which is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected mosquito (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting up to a week, and many people do not have symptoms or will have only mild symptoms. However, Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly and other severe brain defects.

Q: How do people get infected with Zika?

A: Zika is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus). A pregnant woman can pass Zika to her fetus during pregnancy or around the time of birth. Also, a person with Zika can pass it to his or her sex partners. We encourage people who have traveled to or live in places with risk of Zika to protect themselves by preventing mosquito bites and sexual transmission of Zika.

Q: What health problems can result from getting Zika?

A: Many people infected with Zika will have no symptoms or mild symptoms that last several days to a week. However, Zika infection during pregnancy can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects. Current research suggests that Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), an uncommon sickness of the nervous system, is strongly associated with Zika; however, only a small proportion of people with recent Zika virus infection get GBS.

Once someone has been infected with Zika, it’s very likely they’ll be protected from future infections. There is no evidence that past Zika infection poses an increased risk of birth defects in future pregnancies.

Q: Should pregnant women travel to areas with a risk of Zika?

A: Pregnant women should NOT travel to areas with Zika outbreaks. Before traveling to other areas with the current or past spread of Zika, pregnant women should discuss their travel plans with a doctor. Travelers who go to places with outbreaks or past or current spread can be infected with Zika. Zika infection during pregnancy can cause microcephaly and other severe brain defects.

Q: What can people do to prevent Zika?

A: The best way to prevent Zika is to protect yourself and your family from mosquito bites:

Use registered insect repellents Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants

Sleep under a mosquito bed net if air-conditioned or screened rooms are not available or if sleeping outdoors.

Zika can be spread by a person infected with Zika to his or her sex partners. Condoms can reduce the chance of getting Zika from sex. Condoms include male and female condoms. To be effective, condoms should be used from start to finish, every time during vaginal, anal, and oral sex and the sharing of sex toys. Not having sex eliminates the risk of getting Zika from sex. Pregnant couples with a partner who traveled to or lives in an area with risk of Zika should use condoms every time they have sex or not have sex during the pregnancy.

Q: What are the symptoms of Zika virus disease?

A: The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, headache, joint pain, red eyes, and muscle pain. Many people infected with Zika won’t have symptoms or will have mild symptoms, which can last for several days to a week.

Q: How is Zika diagnosed?

A: To diagnose Zika, your doctor will ask you about recent travel and symptoms you may have and collect blood or urine to test for Zika or similar viruses.

Q: Can someone who returned from an area with a risk of Zika get tested for the virus?

A: Zika virus testing is performed at CDC and some state and territorial health departments. See your doctor if you have Zika symptoms and have recently been in an area with a risk of Zika. Your doctor may order tests to look for Zika or similar viruses like dengue and chikungunya.

Q: What should pregnant women who have recently traveled to an area with a risk of Zika do?

A: Pregnant women who have recently traveled to an area with a risk of Zika should talk to their doctor about their travel, even if they don’t feel sick. Pregnant women should see a doctor if they have any Zika symptoms during their trip or after traveling. All pregnant women can protect themselves by avoiding travel to an area with risk of Zika, preventing mosquito bites, and following recommended precautions against getting Zika through sex.

Q: I am not pregnant, but will my future pregnancies be at risk if I am infected with the Zika virus?

A: Currently, there is no evidence that a woman who has recovered from Zika virus infection (the virus has cleared her body) will have Zika-related pregnancy complications in the future. Based on information about similar infections, once a person has been infected with the Zika virus and has cleared the virus from his or her body, he or she is likely to be protected from future Zika infections.

If you’re thinking about having a baby soon and you or your partner live in or traveled to an area with the risk of Zika, talk with your doctor or another healthcare provider. See Women & Their Partners Trying to Become Pregnant.

Q: How should insect repellents be used on children to prevent mosquito bites and the viruses that some mosquitoes can spread?

A: When using insect repellent on your child always follow label instructions. Do not use products containing oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE) or para-menthane-diol (PMD) on children under 3 years old. Do not apply insect repellent to a child’s hands, eyes, mouth, cuts, or irritated skin. Adults should spray insect repellent onto their hands and then apply it to a child’s face.

Q: What should I do if I am sick, or a family member is sick, with Zika?

A: Many people infected with the Zika virus won’t have symptoms or will only have mild symptoms lasting several days to a week. If you have symptoms of Zika (fever, rash, headache, joint pain, red eyes, or muscle pain) and you live in or recently traveled to an area with risk of Zika, you should see your doctor or healthcare provider and tell him or her about your symptoms and recent travel. There is no specific medicine for Zika, but you can treat the symptoms. If you are diagnosed with Zika, protect those around you by taking steps to prevent mosquito bites and to prevent sexual transmission of Zika. Because Zika can generally be found in the blood during approximately the first week of infection and can be passed to another person through mosquito bites, help prevent others from getting sick by strictly following steps to prevent mosquito bites during the first week of illness.

Read FAQs

A. No, Zika virus is not spread through casual contact such as shaking hands or sharing food. The primary modes of transmission are through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, sexual contact, and from a pregnant mother to her unborn child. Blood transfusion is a rare mode of transmission, but Zika cannot spread through coughing, sneezing, or touching.

A. If you have symptoms like fever, rash, joint pain, red eyes, or headache and have recently traveled to an area with Zika risk, you should consult your healthcare provider. Your doctor may recommend testing to confirm the presence of the virus. While there is no specific treatment for Zika, managing symptoms with rest, fluids, and pain relievers like acetaminophen is advised. Be sure to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites to prevent spreading the virus to others.

A. Couples should take precautions when planning pregnancy after Zika infection. It is recommended that men wait at least six months after symptoms or exposure, and women wait at least two months. This helps minimize the risk of the virus affecting future pregnancies. Always consult your healthcare provider for personalized guidance based on your circumstances

Read Blog

Digital Healthcare Automation India: Enabling Smart Workflows, Faster Care, and a Modern Clinical Ecosystem

Digital healthcare automation is redefining how India delivers medical services, manages clinical operations, and coordinates patient journeys. As hospitals, clinics, and digital health platforms move toward technology-driven processes, automation has become essential for ensuring efficiency, reducing manual work, minimizing delays, and improving care accuracy. In a healthcare system where patient volumes are high and specialist availability is uneven, automation empowers organizations to deliver faster, smarter, and more consistent care.

India’s healthcare automation growth aligns with national initiatives like ABDM (Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission), growing telemedicine adoption, rising digital literacy, and the increased use of AI-based medical tools. SecondMedic integrates automation into every stage of digital care-appointments, reporting, monitoring, follow-ups, and preventive health-allowing users and clinicians to experience a seamless, intelligent healthcare ecosystem.

Digital healthcare automation India is not simply about digitizing manual tasks; it is about augmenting healthcare with intelligent workflows that respond to real-time needs. By reducing repetitive workloads, automation allows clinicians to focus on what matters most: patient care.

Why Automation Matters in Indian Healthcare

India faces significant challenges: overloaded outpatient departments, resource shortages, manual data entry errors, delayed reports, and administrative inefficiencies. Automation addresses these issues by introducing structured, rule-based processes supported by AI and digital tools.

Key systemic challenges automation helps solve:

High patient-to-doctor ratios
Slow movement of information across departments
Inconsistent follow-up and monitoring
Manual errors in documentation and reporting
Unpredictable appointment flow
Inadequate time for patient–doctor interaction

Digital automation supports a more organized, reliable, and high-performance healthcare environment.

What Is Digital Healthcare Automation?

Digital healthcare automation refers to the use of AI, software systems, connected devices, and workflow engines to automate medical and administrative procedures. These tools reduce manual intervention wherever possible and ensure accuracy, repeatability, and continuity.

Core areas of automation include:

Appointment management and scheduling
Electronic medical record updates
Auto-generation of diagnostic summaries
Automated clinical reminders
Medication and health-plan notifications
Remote monitoring and alert systems
Digital report formatting
Workflow optimization for hospital operations

SecondMedic incorporates automation across its telemedicine, diagnostics, monitoring, and preventive-care systems.

Automated Appointment Scheduling and Coordination

Appointment automation is one of the most practical innovations in India’s digital health landscape. Without automation, patients often encounter long queues, missed follow-ups, and scheduling conflicts.

Automated scheduling helps by:

Matching patients to the right doctor
Reducing wait times
Preventing double bookings
Prioritizing urgent cases
Coordinating virtual and in-person consults
Helping doctors manage daily workloads efficiently

SecondMedic’s automated scheduling engine analyzes doctor availability, user urgency, and specialty requirements to optimize appointment flow.

Automation in Diagnostics and Reporting

Medical diagnostics often involve multiple steps that traditionally require human intervention-uploading reports, comparing past results, formatting summaries, highlighting abnormalities, and generating clear interpretations.

Automation enhances diagnostic workflows by:

Auto-organizing digital medical reports
Highlighting abnormal ranges
Identifying missing test values
Summarizing patient history for doctors
Formatting structured reports instantly
Automating comparisons with past results

For AI-based imaging and lab analytics, automation helps radiologists and clinicians detect patterns faster and reduce minor reporting inconsistencies.

Remote Monitoring and Automated Alerts

Remote patient monitoring has grown rapidly in India, especially for chronic diseases. Wearable devices and home-health tools generate continuous data streams. Automation helps turn these raw inputs into actionable insights.

Monitoring automation includes:

Auto-detection of abnormal vitals
Alerts for risky trends
Medication reminders
Follow-up triggers
Predictive alerts using AI
Aggregated health reports for doctors

For chronic care, this ensures timely intervention and reduces emergency visits.

Enhancing Hospital and Clinic Workflows

Healthcare automation in clinical facilities improves operational efficiency and reduces administrative bottlenecks. Hospitals benefit significantly from automated workflows that ensure consistency and speed.

Applications include:

Patient flow management
Automated admission and discharge processes
Digital billing and inventory management
Lab and pharmacy integration
Nursing task automation
Centralized communication dashboards

These improvements reduce patient wait times and improve overall care delivery.

Improving Patient Engagement Through Automation

Automation supports patients by making healthcare more accessible and predictable. Many individuals struggle to remember follow-ups or understand complex medical guidance. Automated systems simplify this journey.

Key patient-facing automation benefits include:

Reminders for medications and appointments
Preventive health notifications
Personalized care tips
AI-driven chat support for common queries
Post-consultation guidance delivery
Automated sharing of doctor notes and reports

SecondMedic uses automation to ensure patients remain engaged throughout their health journey.

Automation and AI: A Powerful Combination

AI enhances healthcare automation by making it adaptive and context-aware. Instead of following fixed rules, AI learns from patterns, outcomes, and user behavior to optimize workflows.

AI strengthens automation through:

Predictive recommendations
Dynamic scheduling adjustments
Automated report summaries
Early detection of errors
Smart escalation of high-risk cases

This combination powers advanced clinical systems that support both providers and patients.

Challenges in Implementing Healthcare Automation in India

Automation requires planning, infrastructure, and careful integration. Key challenges include:

Fragmented patient data across facilities
Infrastructure limitations in rural areas
Varying digital readiness across hospitals
Need for staff training
Ensuring compliance with DPDP and ABDM standards

Despite these challenges, adoption is increasing as digital health becomes mainstream.

The Future of Digital Healthcare Automation in India

India is poised for significant automation growth, driven by advancements in AI, 5G connectivity, cloud platforms, and interoperable health records. Over the next decade, digital healthcare automation will include:

AI-powered hospital command centers
Fully automated radiology and pathology workflows
Robotic process automation (RPA) in administrative processes
Automated care coordination for chronic diseases
Voice-based digital assistants for patient queries
Smart triage algorithms integrated across telemedicine networks
Predictive automation for emergency care

SecondMedic is building a modern digital ecosystem that integrates AI, automation, and predictive healthcare tools, creating a seamless and intelligent healthcare experience for users.

Conclusion

Digital healthcare automation India is unlocking a new era of efficiency, precision, and patient-centered care. By automating clinical workflows, diagnostic tasks, and patient engagement processes, healthcare organizations can deliver faster, more reliable services. Automation supports doctors with real-time insights, reduces administrative burdens, and ensures that patients receive timely interventions.

SecondMedic continues to lead this transformation by integrating automation into virtual care, diagnostics, monitoring, and preventive health solutions, shaping the future of digital healthcare in India.

To access advanced automated digital healthcare tools, visit www.secondmedic.com

References

NITI Aayog – Digital Health India
ABDM – National Digital Health Mission
IMARC – Healthcare Automation Market India
WHO – Digital Health Workflow Automation
FICCI – Hospital Automation India

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