First Zika Virus Case Confirmed in China: Xinhua

China has its first confirmed case of the Zika virus in Jiangxi province, the Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.

The patient apparently contracted the virus during a trip to Venezuela. The unidentified male, aged 34, was said to be recovering. He returned to southern China's Jiangxi province via Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Officials said that the currently low temperatures throughout China made the risk of the virus spreading further, at least from this one known case, was low.

"Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. Other transmission modes are still  under investigation. People with Zika virus disease usually have a mild fever, skin rash (exanthema), and conjunctivitis. These  symptoms normally last for 2 - 7 days. At present t here is no specific treatment or vaccine currently available. The best form of prevention is  protection against mosq uito bites. Zika virus is known to circulate in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific region. Zika virus had only been known to cause sporadic infections in humans until 2007, when an outbreak in Micronesia infected 31 people," according to the World Health Organization. 

Beijing was an epicenter of the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic.

Photo: World Health Organization