The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have confirmed Taiwan’s fourth imported case of the Zika virus.
The patient, a 43-year-old Taiwanese woman, had spent several months on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. On July 26, two days after returning to Taiwan, the patient developed symptoms including nausea, fever, and joint and muscle pains. She visited a clinic, but on July 29 she also developed a rash on her face and limbs.
On Wednesday, testing confirmed that the woman had contracted Zika while abroad. The CDC announced the case to the public on Thursday. CDC Director-General Kuo Hsu-Sung said that patient has voluntarily placed herself under quarantine. Kuo said that doctors will monitor her condition until August 6, when the virus is expected to clear. The risk of the disease spreading is low.
Kuo said that the CDC cannot rule out the possibility that the Zika epidemic in the Americas may eventually reach Taiwan. But he said that the government is treating the threat seriously and will do all it can to keep the virus out.
The Zika virus is rarely fatal but has been linked to birth defects in babies born to mothers who contracted the virus while pregnant.