China confirms first case of Zika virus

BEIJING (92 News) – China has confirmed its first case of the Zika virus in a man who had recently travelled to South America.

The virus, which is causing international alarm after spreading through much of the Americas, was detected in a 34-year-old man from Ganxian county in the eastern province of Jiangxi.

Chinese health authorities downplayed the risk of the mosquito-borne virus spreading because of the winter cold. Hong Kong's Department of Health said in a statement that the man, who had travelled through the city on his return to China, worked in Dongguan, a bustling manufacturing city in the neighboring southern province of Guangdong.

Hong Kong's Port Health Office has stepped up inspections at the airport in response and reinforced training for boundary control inspectors, the statement added.

There is a risk that Zika could be spread locally if it was introduced to Hong Kong, the statement said, because Aedes Albopictus mosquitoes, which transmit the virus, live there. But no cases of the virus in Hong Kong have been reported so far, it said.

The infected man had been quarantined at a hospital in his hometown since Feb 6, adding that he was recovering with normal body temperature and a fading rash.