Tropical Singapore, a global financial and transit hub, has reported just over 240 Zika cases since the first locally infected case was detected on August 27, and media has quoted the deputy health minister as saying the virus was “here to stay”.
Advertisement
It said local transmission was highly likely because the man had no recent history of travelling outside Malaysia.
The patient developed a fever on Aug 27 and sought medical attention for the first time at the Luyang Health Clinic on Aug 30.
The patient, said Dr Noor Hisham, also had high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney disease, kidney stones and gout.
The ministry was in the process of tracing the movement of the man over the last few weeks, Subramaniam said, adding that vector control activities in these areas would be intensified.
– Monterey County is recording its second case of Zika virus infection found in a resident who visited Mexico last month, county health officials said today.
On Thursday, Malaysia reported the first Zika case on its soil – a 58-year-old woman who is believed to have contracted it on a visit to neighbouring Singapore, where 150 cases have been confirmed.
The two agencies will also begin a prospective cohort study, ZEN Colombia (Zika en Embarazadas y Niños en Colombia), to investigate the longer-term effects of Zika virus infection during pregnancy.
Of those infected in Singapore, 11 are Malaysians, the ministry said.
Scientists say Zika should now be considered a risk factor for hearing loss, and children who were exposed during pregnancy but have normal hearing at birth should be screened regularly for delayed or progressive hearing loss.
In adults, Zika infections have also been linked to a rare neurological syndrome known as Guillain-Barre, as well as other neurological disorders.
Phoebe Barrow, 77, said she was shocked to learn from reporters that it was not just for dengue but because one of her neighbours had been diagnosed with the Zika virus.
Patients infected with Zika virus usually experience mild fever, rashes, joint pains, conjunctivitis and pain behind the eyes, the report pointed out.
Advertisement
An estimated 80 percent of people infected have no symptoms, making it hard for pregnant women to know whether they have been infected.
