Second Zika case confirmed in China
AFP
February 16, 2016, 1:27 am
Beijing (AFP) - China confirmed its second imported Zika case Monday, a day after the first victim was discharged from hospital, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Few cases of the mosquito-borne illness have been reported in Asia, but the World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency to combat Zika as cases spread elsewhere.
Beijing confirmed its first imported case of Zika on February 9.
Officials said the 34-year-old man was diagnosed with the virus after he returned from Venezuela on January 28 and reported a fever, headache and dizziness, Xinhua reported.
He was treated in hospital in Jiangxi province and had fully recovered, it said Sunday.
The agency Monday quoted health officials as confirming a second imported case but gave no immediate details.
While it causes only mild flu-like symptoms in most people, Zika is strongly suspected of causing a rapid rise in the number of children born with microcephaly -- abnormally small heads and brains -- to mothers infected during pregnancy.
Brazil has been most affected by the outbreak that has spread rapidly through Latin America and the Caribbean, with 1.5 million people in the country infected since early 2015.
