(Reuters) — South Korea reported its first confirmed case of the Zika virus on Tuesday (March 22) in a 43-year old male who have travelled to Brazil, its center for disease control said.
“This patient is the first Zika virus-infected patient in South Korea. However, the fever has subsided,” said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Jung Ki-suck at a news conference.
“The patient is a 43 year-old-male. He visited Brazil for 22 days from February 17th to March 9th, 2016 for business purposes. He was bitten by mosquitoes in the north-eastern region of Brazil,” Jung added.
The World Health Organization on February 1 declared the Zika virus outbreak to be a global public health emergency, citing a “strongly suspected” relationship between Zika infection in pregnancy and microcephaly.
Zika has not been proven to cause microcephaly in babies, but there is growing evidence that suggests a link. The condition is defined by unusually small heads that can result in developmental problems.
Brazil says it has confirmed more than 860 cases of microcephaly, and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating more than 4,200 additional suspected cases of microcephaly.
