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| Workers of a quarantine agency spray repellant at Incheon International Airport, Tuesday, after the first Zika virus infection was confirmed in Korea. / Yonhap |
Traveler from Brazil tests positive
By Kim Bo-eun
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) announced Tuesday that a 43-year-old man had tested positive for the Zika virus, following a trip to Brazil.
According to the KCDC, the man, whose identity was withheld, was on a business trip to the South American country from Feb. 17 to March 9, before returning home via Germany, March 11.
He was bitten by a mosquito during the trip, officials said. The man was in Brazil's northeastern state of Ceara, where Zika infections had previously been reported.
He showed symptoms of fever, March 16, and visited a clinic in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, March 18. He had muscle pain and developed a rash the next day, which prompted him to visit the clinic again, March 21.
The clinic reported the case to the regional health authority, suspecting that the man could possibly have been infected with the virus.
The South Jeolla Provincial Institute of Health and Environment and the National Research Institute of Health conducted tests and the man was confirmed positive for the virus.
He was admitted to Chonnam National University Hospital for clinical observation, further tests and an epidemiological examination although he has mostly recovered.
The hospital will also test the man's wife, as the virus can be transmitted through sexual activity.
"He has no fever now and is recovering," Jung Ki-suck, head of the KCDC, said in a media briefing in Seoul. "He does not need to be quarantined, but we are closely monitoring him as it is the first case in Korea."
The Zika virus is mainly transmitted through Aedes mosquito bites, but also through sexual intercourse and blood transfusions.
According to the health authorities, Korea is not in the mosquito-active season so the likelihood of mosquito-bite infections is low.
"The fatality rate and likelihood of transmission are low and accordingly we have not raised our alert level for the virus," Jung said. "However, we will create a task force for Zika virus infections and keep a 24-hour watch."
Zika virus infections have been confirmed in 42 countries — mostly in South America — as of March 21, according to the KCDC.
Some Southeast Asian countries as well as China and Japan have also reported infections.
Symptoms include a fever, rash, joint pain and bloodshot eyes. The symptoms in most cases are mild, while 80 percent of those infected remain asymptomatic.
Studies are currently taking place over the relation between the virus and babies born with microcephaly.
Infected patients are able to recover through sufficient rest and drinking enough fluids, the KCDC said.
Currently, there are no vaccines available to combat the virus.
