The Centers for Diseases Control (CDC) yesterday confirmed this year’s first imported case of Zika virus infection.
The patient is a woman in her 40s living in central Taiwan who visited the island of Cebu in the Philippines with her family from July 8 to July 19, the CDC said. It issued a travel alert for the Philippines and Singapore, where the virus might be spreading.
The patient said she was bitten by a mosquito on July 11, and started showing symptoms, including a fever, headache, muscle pain and rashes on her face and body, on July 13, the CDC said, adding that she was hospitalized on July 16 in the Philippines.
She immediately went to see a doctor upon returning home and was hospitalized on July 20, it said.
She has been discharged following treatment and her family members do not show any sign of Zika infection, the CDC said, adding that the local health department also took necessary measures, including instructing the patient to adhere to the “1+6 principle” and requiring her to take mosquito prevention measures for at least three weeks.
The “1+6 principle” promoted by the CDC for Zika transmission prevention includes not donating blood for at least one month, using a condom during sex for at least six months and (for women) not getting pregnant for at least six months.
Eighteen Zika cases including this one have been confirmed in Taiwan since 2016 — 13 in 2016 and four last year — and all of them were imported, mainly from Southeast Asian nations, the CDC said.
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