First Zika case in China confirmed in man who travelled to Venezuela

World Today

China’s first Zika patient, who remains in quarantine in a local hospital, has said he is not worried about his diagnosis as he believes the disease is “easy to treat”.

The 34-year-old man checked himself into the hospital on February 5 after having fever symptoms when he arrived in Ganxian County in east China’s Jiangxi Province. He had recently returned from Venezuela.

The man, who initially thought he was infected with the dengue virus, had already seen a doctor in Venezuela after showing symptoms including fever and dizziness in the South American country.

On Tuesday, he was confirmed by the Chinese Center For Disease Control and Prevention to be China’s first Zika infection case.

“Firstly, I thought I was infected with dengue. We actually learned some more medical knowledge. The symptoms made me believe that I had contracted dengue fever, because Zika virus was only found in recent times,” said the patient.

The man said he is not concerned about testing positive for the virus because he believes that the disease is not a serious illness and won’t be hard to cure.

“The disease is less harmful to males and has a larger impact on females in the later phases of infection. This is the truth,” the patient said.

The patient is being quarantined at the Ganxian People’s hospital where he is currently receiving treatment. Doctors say his symptoms such as skin rash and fever are fading.

“He said the disease is commonly seen in Venezuela and it is easy to treat, so he is not worried and has stayed calm whilst in quarantine,” said Deng Yichu, director of the infectious disease department, Ganzhou People’s Hospital.

Story from CCTV.