Advice and Travel Warnings for Travellers Especially Pregnant Travellers
to Zika Affected CountriesSept 2016
All travellers
Note there is currently no vaccine or drug to prevent Zika virus infection.
Aedes mosquitoes, most commonly Aedes aegypti, transmit Zika as well as diseases such as chikungunya, dengue, and yellow fever. Aedes mosquitoes predominantly bite during the day, but especially during mid-morning and late afternoon to dusk (as opposed to mosquitoes that transmit malaria, which bite at night between dusk and dawn).
Travellers to regions where these diseases occur (irrespective of Zika virus specific risk) should ideally seek travel health advice from their GP, practice nurse or a travel clinic at least 4 to 6 weeks before they travel. Even if time is short it is still not too late to get travel advice.
UK nationals who live in areas with active Zika transmission and have concerns, should seek advice from their local healthcare provider who will be able to advice on their individual circumstances.
Although the majority of Zika virus cases are acquired via mosquito bite, sexual transmission of Zika virus infection can occur. The overall risk of sexual transmission of Zika virus is considered to be low, but the number of reports is increasing. All travellers to countries, territories and areas regarded as high or moderate risk of Zika (see below) should follow precautions to avoid sexual transmission.
Preventing infection by mosquito bites
Travellers should use mosquito bite avoidance measures if they are travelling in areas below or around 2,000 metres (m). All travellers should take insect bite avoidance measures during daytime and night time hours to reduce the risk of infection with Zika and other mosquito borne diseases.
A good repellent containing N, N-diethylmetatoluamide (DEET) should be used on exposed skin, together with light cover-up clothing. If sunscreen is needed, repellent should be applied after sunscreen. Sunscreen should be 30 SPF or above to compensate for DEET- induced reduction in SPF. Further information can be found below.
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are unlikely to be found at altitudes above 2,000m. Travellers whose itineraries are limited to areas above 2,000m are at a lower risk of acquiring Zika virus infection from a mosquito.
NaTHNaC provides links to CDC maps for a number of countries with active Zika virus transmission that show areas above 2,000m on their country information pages. These can be used by travellers and health professionals as a general guide to indicate potentially lower risk areas of mosquito-acquired Zika virus infection.
Pregnancy and travel
Zika virus infection may present an increased risk of complications for certain groups of the population, particularly pregnant women.Before booking travel, pregnant women and women planning pregnancy within 8 weeks following travel should check the Zika risk for their destination (see below) and consider any travel advisories.
Specific Zika risk based travel advice has been developed for pregnant women and their male partners. Specific recommendations regarding travel have also been developed for women planning pregnancy within 8 weeks following travel.
Pregnant women and their male partners who are planning to travel
Pregnant women should discuss their travel plans with their healthcare provider, ideally before booking, to assess their risk of infection with Zika virus. Where travel is unavoidable, the pregnant traveller should be individually risk-assessed and must be informed by the healthcare provider of the risks which Zika may present.
Pregnant travellers should receive advice on the scrupulous use of mosquito bite avoidance measures both during daytime and night time hours (but especially during mid-morning and late afternoon to dusk, when the mosquito is most active).
Country risk rating / Travel advice for pregnant womenHigh / Pregnant women should postpone non-essential travel until after pregnancy. All pregnant women planning to travel should seek advice from their healthcare provider 4 to 6 weeks before travel for an individual risk assessment.
Moderate / Pregnant women should consider postponing non-essential travel until after pregnancy. All pregnant women planning to travel should seek advice from their healthcare provider 4 to 6 weeks before travel for an individual risk assessment.
Low / No Zika specific advisory. All pregnant women planning to travel should seek advice from their healthcare provider 4 to 6 weeks before travel for an individual risk assessment and to discuss the low risk.
Zika affected countriesand their risk rating
Country specific Zika advice can be found at:
High Risk
American Samoa / Colombia / Guatemala / Saint MartinAnguilla / Costa Rica / Honduras / Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Antigua and Barbuda / Cuba / Jamaica / Samoa
Argentina / Curaçao / Martinique / Singapore
Aruba / Dominica / Mexico / Sint Eustatius
Bahamas / Dominican Republic / Micronesia, Federated States of / Sint Maarten
Barbados / Ecuador / Nicaragua / Suriname
Belize / El Salvador / Panama / Thailand
Bolivia / Fiji / Paraguay / Tonga
Bonaire / Florida, USA further details / Peru / Trinidad and Tobago
Brazil / French Guiana / Puerto Rico / Turks and Caicos Islands
British Virgin Islands / Grenada / Saba / Venezuela
Cayman Islands / Haiti / Saint-Barthélemy
Cape Verde / Guadeloupe / Saint Lucia
Moderate Risk
Florida, USAModerate risk, some areas high risk: / Indonesia / Vietnam
Guinea-Bissau / Philippines
Low Risk
Bangladesh / Guyana / Malaysia / Papua New GuineaCambodia / Easter Island / Maldives / Solomon Islands
Cook Islands / French Polynesia / Marshall Islands / Vanuatu
Gabon / Laos / New Caledonia