Zika virus discourages many Americans from Latin America travel

As a result, the World Health Organization declared an global health emergency February 1, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is advising pregnant women or those considering becoming pregnant to avoid travel to places with Zika outbreaks.

“It’s one more thing to worry about”, said Juliana Araujo, a 48-year-old schoolteacher at a street party in Rio de Janeiro, where other problems, like an economic recession and impeachment proceedings against Brazil’s president, seemed distant concerns.

The Zika virus is a disease which is spread by a type of mosquito.

Representatives of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s office, the agricultural experiment station, the state Department of Public Health and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection – which runs mosquito control programs – met Monday to develop a coordinated response to the virus, Andreadis said.

One woman who had been planning a trip to Mexico said: “The virus is making it less and less attractive”. Outside a juice bar in Rio early on Sunday, three men dressed as mosquitoes mingled with other revelers, the names of maladies borne by the insect stenciled across their chests: “Zika”, “dengue” and “chikungunya”.

Still, it may be too soon to expect a microcephaly spike as the pregnant women who have been diagnosed with Zika haven’t delivered their children yet.

“We are being told by the CDC to really focus on protecting pregnant women”, O’Donnell said. “Zika is not new – it has been around since the 1950s – but this strain is showing that it can be transmitted from the mother to the developing fetus”, he said. That applies to both male and female Olympians, given the virus can be transmitted sexually.

Martino added that “most cases will be transmitted via mosquito, and this form of sexual transmission is likely to be a rare occurrence of infection”. If individuals are not traveling to the countries with active Zika virus transmission, the risk for transmission is minimal.

The United States Olympic Committee told US sports federations on a January conference call that athletes and staff anxious about contracting the Zika virus should consider not going to the 2016 Rio Olympics in August, two people on the call told Reuters.

Rhonda Susman, director of infection control at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, said the obstetricians, neonatologists and pediatricians in L+M’s network have all been alerted to watch for cases of the virus.

To date, no vaccine has been developed to prevent the Zika virus disease.

The health ministry and local authorities have been handing out leaflets alerting residents and tourists to the risks of Zika.