A Taiwanese man returning from Vietnam was on Thursday found to have been infected with the Zika virus, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Saturday.
A quarantine center at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport found that the 21-year-old man, who lives alone in northern Taiwan, had a fever and stopped him to run some tests, the CDC said.
He was in Ho Chi Minh City from June 1 to Thursday, visiting his friends and relatives, it said.
A blood sample was collected at the quarantine station and his case was reported to the CDC, which on Saturday confirmed that the man carried the Zika virus.
The CDC cited the man as saying that he started feeling feverish and cold on Wednesday.
His symptoms have since subsided and two people traveling with him on his way to Taiwan did not show signs of infection, CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said, adding that several Zika cases have been reported in Southeast Asian nations.
It is the nation’s third confirmed Zika case this year, the CDC said, adding that a total of 16 cases had been reported since last year, all imported: four cases from Thailand and Vietnam each, two cases from Malaysia and one case each from Indonesia, Singapore, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Angola and the US.
As summer is peak season for traveling abroad, Chuang advised pregnant women or those planning to conceive to avoid destinations where Zika is spreading and take precautions against mosquito bites, as well as use protection when having sex if they cannot avoid traveling to places affected by Zika.
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