Macao’s Health Bureau (known by the Portuguese abbreviation SSM) announced late yesterday evening that the territory had recorded its first imported case of zika fever for 2026.
The patient, a 53-year-old local man, resides in Block 5 of the Kuong Wa San Chun residential estate in the Areia Preta district. His workplace is on Estrada de D. Maria II, where the CEM headquarters is situated.
The man had been on a family trip to Malaysia, returning to Macao on Tuesday last week after being away since 20 December. He began showing symptoms last Friday, including a fever, muscular pain, and a rash.
The patient sought medical attention at the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre on Monday. A subsequent blood test, conducted yesterday, confirmed he had been infected with the zika virus.
The SSM statement noted that the man’s condition was stable but did not provide details on whether he has been admitted to hospital. Given his travel history, the timing of his symptom onset, and the laboratory results, the Macao Health Bureau has officially categorised this as a case imported into Macao.
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In response to the confirmed infection, the bureau has deployed staff to the areas where the man has been most active in the city. Their operations involve carrying out inspections for potential mosquito breeding sites and conducting preventative mosquito eradication programmes.
This new case follows Macao’s first-ever imported zika case, which was reported in September 2025 and was brought in from the Philippines.
The zika virus is most commonly transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, as well as through sexual contact, blood transfusions, and from a pregnant woman to her foetus.
While most people infected with the virus show no obvious signs, when symptoms do occur, they are generally mild and can include a fever, rash, conjunctivitis, joint and muscle pain, and headaches. Although it is typically mild, the infection can be lethal in rare instances, mainly affecting vulnerable groups like newborns.
The virus is primarily spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, a species that has not been detected in Macao. The Aedes albopictus species, which is common locally, can transmit dengue and chikungunya fever. Consequently, the bureau anticipates that the risk of sustained local transmission of the zika virus from yesterday’s detected case will remain low.
