Zika virus epidemic prompts Latin America travel warning

Pregnant women are advised to avoid countries that have seen outbreaks of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which doctors are linking to unusually high numbers of babies born with brain defects.

Zika is similar to dengue fever and is transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, the same insect that carries the dengue and chikungunya viruses.

The US authorities say pregant women should avoid going to Puerto Rico, Martinique, Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela and Mexico.

FRIDAY 22 JANUARY 2016

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new guidelines warning pregnant women to avoid 14 countries and territories in the Americas.

Britain's National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) says expectant mothers should "reconsider travel to areas where Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreaks are currently reported".

The public health authorities in El Salvador are advising women in the country to put off pregnancies for the next two years to avoid the risk of giving borth to malformed babies.

Microcephaly

NaTHNaC - whose advice for travellers is endorsed by the Foreign Office - says the warning comes after thousands of babies were born in Brazil with microcephaly, a rare condition where the infant's head is smaller than normal and the brain does not develop properly.

There were more than 3,500 cases of microcephaly and 46 infant deaths in Brazil between 22 October last year and 9 January 2016, all potentially related to the Zika virus, also known by the acronym ZIKV.

Scientists are still investigating a possible link between exposure to the disease in pregnancy and congenital birth defects.

The health authorities in Brazil have confirmed that two miscarriages and two infants who died within 24 hours of birth tested positive for the virus. Their mothers had fallen ill with a rash and fever during pregnancy.Full story>>>