China's first Zika virus patient discharged, declared Zika-free

The Zika virus scourge is still threatening several households mostly in South America and in the Caribbean, with Brazil being the worst affected.

But it is good news for China where a Zika virus patient has been discharged from hospital and declared Zika-free according to medical practitioners at the Ganxian County People’s Hospital.

“The nucleic acid tests for the patient’s blood and urine all showed negative results. We reported the results to medicine and disease control authorities at the city and province levels. They then reported the results to the National Health and Family Planning Commission which approved that the patient could be discharged from hospital,” said Deng Yichu, director of infectious diseases department at the Ganxian County People’s Hospital.

The patient underwent a successful treatment from the February 6 and test results on his serum, urine and saliva samples returned negative.

The 34-year-old man had developed a fever, headache and dizziness while on a visit to the South American country and was put under medical surveillance when he returned to the country.

This was the first case of Zika virus reported in China on February 9 and a series of tests and treatments have proved that the virus can be overcome.

The viral disease was declared an international health emergency on February 1 by the World Health Organization, citing concern over a possible link with a rise in cases of microcephaly, a birth defect characterized by an abnormally small head that can result in developmental problems.