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World / Americas

South Africa confirms first Zika Virus case

Published: 20 Feb 2016 - 04:44 pm | Last Updated: 16 Nov 2021 - 08:07 am
Peninsula

(FILES) This file photo taken on February 10, 2016 shows mosqitos of the kind "Aedes aegypti" at the IAEA Laboratories in Seibersdorf near Traiskirchen south of Vienna, Austria./ AFP /HELMUT FOHRINGER

Johannesburg: South Africa confirmed Saturday its first case of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in a Columbian man, health authorities said.
The virus, which is causing international alarm after spreading through much of the Americas, was detected in the man on his visit to Johannesburg, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said.
"The businessman presented with fever and a rash approximately four days after arrival in South Africa but is now fully recovered," he said.
The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global public health emergency on February 1, noting its association with two neurological disorders, microcephaly in babies and Guillain-Barre syndrome that can cause paralysis.

QNA