KUCHING: The Institute for Medical Research is conducting tests to ascertain the Zika virus strain in two infected Sarawakian sisters, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam. A 35-year-old pregnant woman in Miri and her 39-year-old sister in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, were the confirmed fifth and sixth cases in the country. He said the Miri woman had gone to Singapore in July but it was too long a period to get the infection now. Dr Subramaniam said the older woman had visited her sister in Miri on Aug 26 and returned to Kuala Lumpur on Sept 6. Zika-infected pregnant women face the risk of giving birth to babies with microcephaly, a birth defect where a baby’s head is smaller compared to healthy babies of the same sex and age.

Source: The Star September 16, 2016 22:07 UTC