KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 — Malaysia has confirmed its first case of the Zika virus in a pregnant 27-year-old woman, Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said today.

Zika infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause microcephaly, a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are undersized, besides other brain abnormalities.

Last week, Malaysia confirmed the first imported case of Zika in a 58-year-old woman who had visited Singapore. On Saturday, it confirmed the first case of a locally transmitted Zika infection. ­—Reuters