Local authorities in Sabah ordered to hold gotong-royong to combat Zika

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman wants Kota Kinabalu City Hall and all local authorities to mount a massive gotong royong to clean up their areas in the light of the first Zika virus infection in Sabah.

According to him the relevant authorities must step up measures to ensure areas under their jurisdiction were free of mosquito breeding grounds.

He also urged elected representatives and community leaders to be proactive, conduct awareness campaigns on mosquito related diseases and engage in gotong royong to keep their areas from becoming potential mosquito breeding grounds.

"This matter is not to be taken lightly. We all must play our roles and keep our surroundings clean and not play hosts to mosquitoes that spread diseases like dengue and the even more worrying Zika virus," he said in a statement today.

Musa also wanted local authorities to use the full arm of the law against those who ignored calls to clean up their surroundings, especially construction sites that often become breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Yesterday the Health Ministry said that it had received a report on the first local transmission case of Zika virus infection in the country on Friday.

The patient was a 61-year-old male Dusun residing in Taman Public Jaya Likas, Sabah.

However it was confirmed that the patient had died at about 5.30pm due to complications from his heart condition.

The country's first case of Zika infection reported was when a 58-year-old woman in Klang, Selangor, tested positive for the disease a week after her return from Singapore on Aug 21.