Malaysia reports first locally transmitted Zika case

Malaysia on Saturday confirmed its first locally transmitted case of Zika infection in a man living in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah. “The death is not due to Zika”, said Dr Noor Hisham in a short WhatsApp message.

An edes aegypti mosquito is seen inside a test tube as part of a research on preventing the spread of the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases at a control and prevention center in Guadalupe, neighbouring Monterrey, Mexico, March 8, 2016.

According to the statement, the man first showed symptoms of a fever on August 27 and sought treatment at local clinic.

The health ministry’s director-general, Noor Hisham Abdullah, said in a statement that the case was reported to authorities Friday and confirmed as locally transmitted Saturday.

According to the CDC, Zika virus has the potential to be spread through a mosquito bite, through unprotected sexual contact, through blood transfusion and an infected pregnant woman can pass Zika virus to her fetus during pregnancy.

“The Health Ministry is investigating further the patient’s recent travel history”.

Feeling his condition worsen, he then went to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital 2 the next day, as he was experiencing fever, muscle aches, and diarrhea.

Upon receiving the news, the Health Ministry immediately began vector control activities in areas where the patient frequented, targeting Aedes mosquito breeding sites.

Around 10 of them live and work in Singapore, while one person is working in Singapore but residing in Malaysia’s southern Johor state.

The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light past year in Brazil, which has since confirmed more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly.

But pregnant women who catch it can give birth to babies with microcephaly, a deformation marked by abnormally small brains and heads.

In adults, Zika infections have also been linked to a rare neurological syndrome known as Guillain-Barre, as well as other neurological disorders.

It causes only mild symptoms for most people such as fever and a rash. An estimated 80 percent of people infected have no symptoms.