China confirms second imported Zika case
Patient worked in Venezuela and travelled to Europe before flying into Guangzhou, health authorities say
China confirmed its second imported case of the Zika virus last night, with both patients having travelled from Venezuela.
The latest victim, whose sex and age were not disclosed, arrived at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport on Friday night displaying symptoms. Blood and urine samples came back positive for the infection yesterday, according to the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
The patient, who had worked in Venezuela for three years, had been in contact with a friend there 12 days before developing a fever. That friend had a “mosquito-borne disease in January”, the centre said. Before arriving in Guangzhou, the passenger transferred flights in the Netherlands and Russia.
READ MORE: Man infected with Zika virus recovering and risk of outbreak in China low, state media reports
China confirmed its first imported case of Zika on Tuesday last week. The patient was a 34-year-old Chinese man who had returned from Venezuela on January 28. He works for a company in Dongguan in Guangdong province, and had travelled home via Hong Kong and Shenzhen. He had been quarantined in a Ganxian hospital since February 6.
The man was reported to be recovering and people in close contact with him had not shown any symptoms of infection, state media reported last week.
Drug treatment was suspended around February 10 as he showed signs of recovery, reports said.