China’s Second Imported Zika Case Confirmed

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) stated that China has already listed its second case of Zika virus on Monday, according to a Xinhua News Agency report.

The news comes six days after the first case was detected.

The agency's Guangdong provincial branch found the passenger on Friday at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. The patient, who had fever, was confirmed to have the virus by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention three days after.

In a statement, AQSIQ said that the Chinese national, whose gender was not disclosed, was exposed to an infected person back in Venezuela before heading back to the province via the Netherlands and Russia.

Reports surfaced that the infected was "suffering 38.5 Celsius fever and had red plaques on his face, chest and back," Xinhua stated in a related report.

China's first Zika case involves a 34-year-old man who was found to have developed fever, dizziness and headache in Venezuela on Jan. 28. The patient who hails from Ganxian County, Jiangxi Province, returned to the country via Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

Officials from the county's health and family planning commission said over the weekend that the first patient has fully recovered after receiving close monitoring and treatment.

The Zika virus, which is rapidly spreading in the Americas, has symptoms including fever, rash, joint pain, conjunctivitis, muscle pain and headache. It spreads via mosquito bites.

In light of the global health emergency declared by the World Health Organization, various local governments have heightened their efforts to strictly observe inbound travelers for possible Zika virus case.

Researchers are also initiating studies on how to counter the spread of the virus, which has been affecting millions in the Americas. The virus has been strongly linked to severe birth defects.

In the United States, there has been a report about a sexually transmitted Zika case.