South Korea confirms ninth Zika infection

South Korea on Friday confirmed a woman who returned from a trip to Vietnam has been infected with the Zika virus, the country's ninth case.

The 40-year-old woman tested positive for the mosquito-borne virus after travelling to Ho Chi Minh City from July 11-15, according to the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

The KCDC said she had been infected with the virus after being bitten by a mosquito during her trip to the Southeast Asian country, Yonhap News Agency reported.

She showed symptoms of rash, muscular pain, joint pain and conjunctivitis since July 19 and went to a hospital on Monday to receive an examination, health authorities said.

 

The latest case raises the number of confirmed infections in South Korea to nine, since the country reported its first Zika patient in March.

The virus, first discovered in Africa, has been linked to thousands of birth defects in newborn babies like abnormally small heads and improperly developed brains in Brazil.