China's first Zika virus case confirmed

REUTERS

China's National Health and Family Planning Commission said the man was from Ganxian county in the eastern province of Jiangxi, the BBC reported.

The virus is carried by mosquitoes and has been linked to birth defects.

But Chinese authorities have downplayed the risk of it spreading there, because of the winter cold.

The man had travelled through Hong Kong and Shenzhen on his way back from Venezuela, where he originally displayed symptoms, including a fever and dizziness.

He is now being quarantined at a hospital in his hometown and is recovering normally, the report said.