Malaysia reports first Zika virus infection
Health officials in Malaysia have confirmed the diagnosis of the Zika virus infection in a woman, marking the first case of the mosquito-borne infection in the Southeast Asian country.
The Malaysian Health Ministry made the confirmation in a statement issued on Thursday, saying, the 58-year-old woman is believed to have contracted the virus during a short trip she made in late August to visit her daughter in Singapore, where more than 100 cases of the Zika have been confirmed.
“We are carrying out control measures against Aedes mosquitoes near the woman’s home to prevent the spread of the virus,” the ministry said.
The statement said five other Malaysians living in Singapore had tested positive for the Zika, including the latest victim’s adult daughter, who works there.
Singaporean authorities confirmed on Wednesday that the number of detected infections locally transmitted in the Asian country had jumped to 115 only four days after the emergence of the first case.
Reports said 21 Chinese nationals, 13 Indians, six Bangladeshis, and an Indonesian were among the 115 cases of people diagnosed with Zika in Singapore.
Zika is primarily spread by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, but can also be transmitted through sexual contact.
Although the symptoms of the infection are relatively mild and only 1 in 5 people exposed to it become ill, those who are experiencing fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, are believed to have contacted the disease.
The virus was first detected in Brazil last year and has since been spreading explosively to more than 30 countries, particularly in South America. It is linked with a surge in cases of microcephaly, an untreatable condition in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and undeveloped brains.
The World Health Organization says at least a dozen laboratories across the world are working on a vaccine, but bringing it to the market could take years.
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