MUMBAI: After the seventh zika case from Maharashtra was confirmed in Pune over the weekend, the health department has asked districts to heighten surveillance. A crucial directive includes tracking every pregnant woman within a 5km radius and maintaining follow-ups even after childbirth.The case in Pune was found in Pratik Nagar, Yerwada. The individual was a 64-year-old woman who started experiencing symptoms such as fever, body ache, rashes, and joint pain on November 5. She was diagnosed with the zika virus at Jehangir Hospital in Pune on November 9. The patient has recovered, and her five close contacts have shown no symptoms. The patient had traveled to Kerala in October.Dr Pratapsingh Sarnikar, joint director of health, said that Maharashtra has identified 10 Zika cases in the past three years, with no major spread or complications reported. However, heightened surveillance is crucial for pregnant women due to potential congenital Zika syndrome risks.The surveillance teams discovered mosquito breeding in a flowerpot inside the womans home. Samples of larvae and eggs have been sent to the National Institute of Virology for zika confirmation, said Dr Mahendra Jagtap, state entomologist. Given the aedes mosquitos role in zika transmission, authorities advise draining water reservoirs, covering stored water vessels.Zika virus is transmitted to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus). Although Zika virus disease is generally mild, and severe disease requiring hospitalization and deaths are uncommon during pregnancy it can cause serious birth defects and is associated with other pregnancy problems. Also in rare cases Zika may cause Guillain-Barré syndrome, an uncommon sickness of the nervous system in which a persons own immune system damages the nerve cells, causing muscle weakness, and sometimes, paralysis.With inputs from Steffy Thevar

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