As dengue turns endemic, Kerala plans long-term tracking of Zika and co-infections

Dileep V Kumar

Feb 03, 2026

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Health

Kerala cleared a major long-term research initiative to closely track two of the biggest mosquito-borne diseases that continue to take a heavy toll on the state each year: dengue and Zika.

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The project will track clinical, epidemiological, genomic and immunological markers of dengue and Zika infections, including co-infections, through long-term follow-up studies in Kerala.

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The study will track cases over time to see how dengue and Zika infections begin, how severe they become, how the viruses change and how the body responds, including what happens when a person is infected with both viruses at once.

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Scheduled to begin in February, the study aims to deepen understanding of how mosquito-borne infections spread, evolve and overlap in the state.  

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The approval comes amid a persistent dengue burden. In the first month of 2026 alone, Kerala reported 378 confirmed dengue cases and four deaths.