Health Minister S Subramaniam said in a statement Wednesday that the 27-year-old female was confirmed infected with Zika on September 6, after developing a rash, fever and body aches four days before.
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Kuala: Malaysia’s health ministry on Wednesday said they have detected a new case of Zika virus in a pregnant woman living in Johor Baru, which borders Singapore.
The Minister said that the woman is 3 to 4 months pregnant, who lives in Taman Desa Harmoni, Johor Bahru. However, the husband does commute daily for work to Geylang, Singapore.
He also advised members of public whose spouse are infected with Zika to avoid sex or take precautions for at least six months to avoid pregnancy.
“Besides that, pregnant woman that has no signs or symptoms but has a partner that is confirmed with Zika infection, confirmatory test will be conducted for the woman”, he added.
At a news conference in Putrajaya, Subramaniam said, “It’s still unclear whether the woman contracted the disease from her husband or whether it was locally transmitted”, Reuters reported.
But pregnant women who catch it can give birth to babies with microcephaly, a deformation marked by abnormally small brains and heads.
The total number of Zika cases in Singapore was confirmed to be 275 as of Sept 6. So far, 400 houses had been inspected and 450 premises fogged.
She is being treated in the hospital now, said the minister.
He also said that the Cabinet, at its meeting today, decided that Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi chair a Committee on Environmental Cleanliness.
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She started exhibiting symptoms of rash, fever and body ache on Sep. 2. The woman was sent to a government hospital for treatment and tested positive for Zika on Tuesday, he added.
