Seoul, Mar 22 (IANS): South Korean authorities have detected the first Zika virus case in the country, the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Tuesday.
A 43-year-old man, who had made business trips to Brazil between February 17 and March 11, was tested positive for the mosquito-borne virus, Xinhua news agency quoted the agency as saying.
The patient began developing fever and muscle ache from March 16.
Zika is known as a virus that spreads through bites from a specific mosquito. It is particularly risky for pregnant women as the virus is thought to be linked to a rare birth defect, microcephaly.
Microcephaly causes newborn babies to have an unusually small, damaged brain.