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China's border region on Zika alert

(Xinhua) Updated: 2016-02-12 19:56

China's border region on Zika alert

An aedes aegypti mosquitoes that carries the Zika virus is seen at a laboratory of the National Center for the Control of Tropical Diseases (CENCET) in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on February 10, 2016. [Photo/IC]

KUNMING -- Southwest China's border province of Yunnan is on high alert for Zika, providing 24-hour laboratory tests for the virus.

Lu Lin, director of Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Yunnan, said on Friday that the center is able to obtain the test result in four hours.

He said the center has assessed risks of imported case of Zika virus in all prefectures and cities in the province, which borders Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.

China confirmed its first imported case of Zika virus on Tuesday.

The patient, a 34-year-old male from Ganxian county of Jiangxi Province, had showed symptoms of fever, headache and dizziness on Jan. 28 in Venezuela, before returning to his hometown on Feb. 5 via Hong Kong and Shenzhen. He has been treated in a hospital in Ganxian since Feb. 6 and is now recovering.

Shenzhen Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau has also adopted laboratory test for the virus and aimed at strict border quarantine checks after having detected the case.

Li Dexin, a research fellow of the National Institute For Viral Disease Control and Prevention, warned that the virus is not only spreading in Latin America, but also in some Southeastern Asian countries that are popular destinations for Chinese tourists.

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