South Korea confirms 10th Zika virus infection

South Korea has confirmed an additional case of Zika infection, raising the number of people infected with the virus here to 10, local health authorities said Saturday.

The 35-year-old man came back from a recent trip to Thailand on Aug. 8 and was confirmed to have been infected with the mosquito-borne virus, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

The latest case came after the ninth confirmed case was reported late last month.

The KCDC said that it is currently conducting tests on the person who went to Thailand with the man and others who may have come in contact with him to figure out how he got infected with the virus.

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. (Yonhap)