MALAYSIA’S first case of locally-transmitted Zika infection was found in a 61-year-old man in the Bornean state of Sabah, reported its Health Ministry.
The ministry’s director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement on Saturday: “The Health Ministry is investigating further the patient’s recent travelling history.
“It was found that this Zika infection is most likely from a local source of infection, as the patient did not have any recent travelling history abroad and was probably been bitten by an Aedes mosquito infected with Zika.”
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On August 27, the patient began feeling feverish and sought treatment at a nearby clinic on August 30, reported The Star.
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.
The hospital then tested the patient’s blood and urine, with results coming back positive for the Zika virus.
Upon receiving the news, the Health Ministry immediately began vector control activities in areas where the patient frequented, targeting Aedes mosquito breeding sites.
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The ministry will also closely monitor the patient’s friends and family to determine whether they may have caught the virus as well.
On Thursday, Malaysia announced its first imported case of Zika in a 58-year-old woman who had visited Singapore, where the official number of Zika infections had reached 189 on Friday.
Among those in Singapore who have been infected are 11 Malaysians who are living and/or working in the city-state.
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