According to health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, the 61-year-old man from Taman Public Jaya in Likas passed away at 5.30pm.

“He had other co-morbid conditions such as high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, kidney stones and gout.

“The full results of investigations on his cause of death are still pending,” Noor Hisham said in a statement today.

The deceased was reported to have developed a fever on Aug 27 and went to a clinic on Aug 30.

He sought further treatment at Queen Elizabeth Hospital 2 the next day when his fever worsened, and he began to experience muscle aches and diarrhoea.

Noor Hisham earlier today said the deceased’s blood and urine samples tested positive for Zika, but his serious clinical condition could have been due to existing health afflictions and not primarily due to the Zika virus.

His close contacts will also be examined to determine if they have fever or other symptoms of Zika, added Noor Hisham.

The first case of Zika was reported two days ago, when the health authorities confirmed a 58-year-old woman from Klang had contracted the virus after visiting Singapore.