South Australia confirms first case of Zika virus in 2016

Amid the growing number of case of Zika virus worldwide, a 25-year old man from South Australia has tested positive to the mosquito-borne disease.

SA Health announced that the man, the first to be confirmed with Zika virus in 2016, has acquired the illness overseas. The man had since recovered from the virus, the agency reported. This is the third confirmed case of the virus in SA, and the 14th in Australia, according to ABC.

Despite the new Zika virus case, chief medical officer Professor Paddy Phillips assured the public that there was no risk of spreading the disease in SA. The agency’s advisory states that the A. aegypti and A. albopictus species of mosquitos, which have been identified as the transmitter of Zika virus, do not occur in SA.

Phillips reminded the public about places which may be at risk of the disease. "Countries within the Caribbean, Central Americana, Mexico, the Pacific Islands and South America are known to have Zika virus transmission," he said.

SA Health advises pregnant women to postpone travels to areas where Zika virus transmission is occurring. The incubation period of the disease is typically three to 12 days. Its symptoms include acute fever, rash, arthralgia and headache. Doctors are asked to consider Zika virus infection in patients who have travelled within 14 days of illness onset, to areas with current or recent outbreaks or transmission of Zika virus.

Last month, the New South Wales Health department also reported two cases of Zika virus from passengers travelling from the Caribbean back to Sydney. The agency, however, maintained that the disease remained a low risk in Australia.

Also in February 2015, the World Health Organisation declared Zika virus an international health emergency. The disease has been associated with recent outbreaks of microcephaly, a neurological condition where the baby is born with a small head and reduced brain function, in countries such as Brazil.