Published on 10:01 PM, August 25, 2016

Hong Kong confirms first imported case of Zika virus

Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that can cause birth defects and is particularly dangerous for pregnant women. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong confirmed its first imported case of Zika at a news conference today.

Government-funded broadcaster RTHK said the infected person was a foreign woman in her 30s believed to have caught the virus in the Caribbean.

Zika is a borne by mosquitoes. The virus poses a risk to pregnant women and has been linked to more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly in Brazil, and to auto-immune disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can cause paralysis.