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News > World

Zika Virus: Infections Recorded in South Korea and Bangladesh

  • The Zika virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, like these pictured at a research lab, cannot spread between humans

    The Zika virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, like these pictured at a research lab, cannot spread between humans | Photo: AFP

Published 22 March 2016
Opinion

A Bangladeshi man, who hasn't been overseas, was confirmed to be a carrier of the virus after blood tests. 

The Asian nations of Bangladesh and South Korea reported their first cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus on Tuesday, sparking fears the virus could be spreading across continents.

A 42-year-old South Korean man picked up the virus, which has links to the birth defects microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome, while travelling in Brazil, the country’s center for disease control said.

Bangladesh also reported that a 67-year-old man, who has not been overseas, had tested positive for the infection after results of an old blood test came in.

RELATED: US Health Experts Pinpoint Puerto Rico as Zika Fight Priority 

The Bangladeshi man lives in southeastern port city of Chittagong and was doing well, junior health minister Zahid Maleque said at a news conference. None of his relatives had tested positive, he said.

"The virus was found in the man as we tested old blood samples of nearly 1,000 people afflicted with fever in 2014 and 2015," Rahman told Reuters.

The Zika virus has spread across much of Latin America since the end of last year, with the World Health Organization declaring the disease an international health emergency on Feb. 1, citing a "strongly suspected" relationship between Zika in pregnancy and microcephaly, which can result in developmental problems.

As teleSUR reported last week, Panama registered its first microcephaly case in a newborn, with traces of the Zika virus found in the baby's umbilical cord.

The baby died four days after being born.

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