South Africa now has a confirmed case of Zika virus

Pamphlet on Zika virus in Colombia
(Image credit: Luis Robayo/AFP/Getty Images)

South African health authorities confirmed the country's first case of Zika virus Saturday, Reuters reports. A Colombian business man visiting Johannesburg had a fever and rash, but fully recovered.

The mosquito-borne virus, which the World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency, is thought to be linked to a birth defect called microcephaly. The virus, which experts traced back to Brazil, has been spreading through the Americas at a rapid clip.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.