The Kaohsiung City Government has reported two suspected cases of imported Zika.
The two patients are a husband and wife who reportedly returned to Taiwan on May 16 from a trip to Fiji and the Solomon Islands. Both countries have seen local cases of Zika during the ongoing outbreak. Both sought treatment after developing symptoms including a fever during the past week. The health ministry says that the female patient is 24-weeks pregnant.
Neither of the patients has been hospitalized, but Kaohsiung’s Chang Kung Memorial Hospital alerted authorities about the suspected Zika cases. An initial blood test has come back negative, but another test is scheduled for June 4.
The health ministry says that there are no confirmed Zika cases in Taiwan, whether local or imported. The ministry says that that if Zika does arrive in Taiwan, it will conduct emergency Zika prevention work in line with procedures already in place for dealing with dengue fever.