80% of Zika-infected Koreans visited Southeast Asia

Carriers of Zika. / Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho, Kang Aa-young

Nearly 80 percent of Zika-affected people in Korea have contracted the virus in Southeast Asia, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) Thursday.

Twenty-eight people in Korea have been infected with the virus, which can cause certain birth defects. Twenty-two people contracted it from Southeast Asian countries, and six people contracted in from countries in Central and South America.

The Philippines accounts for most cases (nine), followed by Vietnam (six), Thailand (five) and Maldives (two).

Nine of the victims are woman (32 percent), but none were pregnant when they became infected.

All the patients suffered from rashes. Nineteen experienced muscle pain, 15 had a high fever. Arthralgia and conjunctival hyperemia were among the other symptoms observed.

The KCDC has urged people to be cautious of the risk of the virus, which appears to be still active in Southeast Asia.

The KCDC also advised those who have visited Zika-infected regions to use contraception for at least six months.

Zika virus is primarily transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito, not by the casual contact with an infected person. / KCDC