Health NewsI Malaysia has reported its first case of a pregnant woman with Zika

Malaysia has reported its first case of a pregnant woman with Zika, who lives in a state bordering Singapore where authorities have already recorded 275 cases.

The 27-year-old woman in the southern state of Johor is the third person with Zika in Malaysia, where fears of a full-blown outbreak emanating from Singapore are mounting.
Infected pregnant women can give birth to babies with microcephaly, a deformation marked by abnormally small brains and heads.

“The woman is expecting her first child and is three to four months pregnant,” Malaysia’s health minister, S Subramaniam, said in a statement on the ministry’s Facebook page.

Last week, Malaysia reported its first case of Zika in a woman believed to have caught the virus in Singapore. On Saturday, it reported its first suspected locally transmitted case, a man in the eastern state of Sabah.

The man, who had no recent history of overseas travel, was already in fragile health and subsequently died of heart-related complications.
Subramaniam said it was not clear how the pregnant woman had contracted Zika, but she had visited Singapore six months ago and her husband regularly made trips to the city state.

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Health NewsI Zika Virus- World Health Organization Issues Safe Sex Guidelines For Travelers

World Health Organization (WHO) have issued new guidelines for travelers in Zika-affected areas to practice safe sex for at least six months. This is because Zika virus could be transmitted via bodily fluids including semen. 

According to WHO, more studies are confirming that sexual intercourse could be a mode of transmission of the Zika virus. WHO wants to protect pregnant women as much as possible since Zika-linked microcephaly is one of the effects of the virus. This is the case of babies being born with abnormally small brains, leading to numerous delays in physical and mental abilities.

WHO also said in their guidelines that other studies had revealed even people who have not had symptoms of the virus could infect others. Initially, WHO proposed that men and women traveling from Zika-affected areas should practice safe sex for eight weeks or two months. People who would have symptoms of having Zika virus would only experience mild changes such as a fever, rashes, or muscle and joint aches. WHO also advised pregnant women to avoid travelling to areas with ongoing Zika virus transmission.

The main transmission of Zika virus is through the Aedes mosquito bites. Zika could stay in a man's semen for months and in the blood stream of a person. It could also be found in urine. Zika has spread in Latin America, the Carribean, in Asia, and some states in the U.S. In Florida, there have been seven more people diagnosed with home-grown Zika cases. Florida now has 56 locally-acquired Zika cases. In the other guidelines sent out by WHO, they advised women to delay their pregnancy plans in order to avoid affecting the baby if they catch the Zika virus.

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