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.

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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.

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