China's official Xinhua news agency said Tuesday that the country had confirmed its first imported case of the Zika virus.
Xinhua, citing the country's National Health and Family Planning Commission, said the virus was found in a 34-year-old man who had traveled from Venezuela to his home in Ganxian county, Jiangxi province. The patient has been quarantined and treated in a local hospital since February 6.
Having visited Venezuela last month, the patient showed signs of fever, headache and dizziness on January 28 before returning to his hometown late last week, Xinhua said. He is now recovering with a regulated body temperature and fading rash.
Signs and symptoms of the Zika virus include fever, rash, headache, conjunctivitis and pain in the joints, muscles and eyes. It usually results in mild illness, but the virus poses a greater danger to pregnant women and may be linked to a rare neurological condition called microcephaly, which causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads.
Xinhua cited the health officials as saying that because of low temperatures in the region, there was an "extremely low" risk that the virus would spread further.
