2nd LD Writethru: Malaysia confirms first case of Zika infection

Malaysia confirmed its first case of the Zika virus on Thursday in a woman who had recently travelled to Singapore, which had a sudden increase in new Zika cases in recent days.

The virus, which has caused alarm among Malaysian health authorities, was detected in a 58-year-old woman from Bandar Botanic, Klang in Selangor, said Malaysia's health minister Dr. S.Subramaniam at a press conference. She has been admitted to the hospital.

It is suspected that the woman got infected while visiting her daughter in Singapore from Aug. 19 to Aug. 21. She began to exhibit symptoms of rash on Aug. 28 and was tested positive on Aug. 30, according to a press release from the ministry.

The woman's husband and family members who lived in the same house with her, have yet to show any symptoms of Zika infection, said the minister, but the husband also went to Singapore during the same period to visit their daughter.

The health ministry has already started "vector control" operations to control the mosquito population in the residential area of the case and other places that the patient had visited.

Such operations include fogging and eliminating breeding sites of Aedes mosquitoes, which were found to carry the Zika virus in affected countries.

Subramaniam urged residents to allow vector control officers to enter their house to make such measures successful.

Zika may cause a viral fever similar to dengue and chikungunya, with mild fever, rash and red eyes. However, most people infected with Zika virus infection do not develop symptoms, posing a problem for the prevention of the virus. At present, there is no vaccine or treatment for the virus.

Study on the some infected Zika cases in America showed that the virus may also have the ability to spread via sexual transmission.

Zika can increase the risk of birth defects among new born babies if their mothers are infected. One major defect is microcephaly, who can lead to smaller heads than normal kids in babies. It is reported that the virus has caused more than 1,800 microcephaly cases in Brazil since last year.

There are five Malaysians residing and working in Singapore that has been confirmed to be infected with Zika virus, said the ministry, citing information from Singapore's Ministry of Health. Since its first locally-transmitted Zika case on Aug. 27, Singapore has confirmed 115 Zika cases, including a pregnant woman.

Malaysia's first Zika infection case is a reminder that the virus, which was detected on a large scale in Brazil last year, has made inroads in Southeast Asia countries, with other countries being affected including Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore. Enditem