MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A Colombian businessman on a visit to Johannesburg has become South Africa's first registered case of the Zika virus, the country's Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said Saturday.
According to the official, as quoted by Sky News, the patient "presented with fever and a rash approximately four days after arrival in South Africa but is now fully recovered."
The Zika virus is transmitted by daytime-active mosquitoes. The current outbreak originated in Brazil in the spring of 2015. Since then the virus has spread across Latin America and began to draw international media attention in recent weeks when the first cases in Europe and the United States were confirmed. Over 1.5 million people have been infected with the virus in Brazil since the outbreak began.
Zika does not cause serious complications in adults, but is suspected of leading to severe brain defects and cases of microcephaly in newborns.
