A 67-year-old man from Petaling Jaya is the latest confirmed case of Zika infection in the country, according to The Star Online.
The diagnosis brings the official recorded Zika case in Malaysia to eight.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah told the news portal that the Zika infection report was detected through the Zika virus surveillance system.
The man, according to Dr Noor Hisham, had sought treatment at the Tangling Clinic on November 30 after suffering from fever, nausea and diarrhoea for two days.
As the blood-screening test did not yield any significant findings, the man was told to return to the clinic if his condition worsened.
The man reportedly returned to the clinic on December 1, suffering from join and muscle pain.
A dengue test reportedly came back negative, and the case was reported to the district health office for suspected dengue.
“As the test was negative despite the patient exhibiting dengue symptoms, blood samples were taken and sent to the National Public Health Laboratory (MKAK) in Hospital Sungai Buloh for other flavivirus tests, in line with the national flavivirus screening protocol,” Dr Noor Hisham was quoted as saying.
One week later, MKAK confirmed that there were traces of Zika virus in the man’s blood sample, and the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) confirmed that the man’s urine sample also tested positive for Zika on December 14.
According to Dr Noor Hisham, the man’s family members have reportedly undergone checks, with blood and urine samples taken for a Zika screening test.
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