Zika virus expert warns tourists to 'think twice' about trips to Disney World

Pregnant women and couples looking to conceive are being told to be wary of visiting parts of the US

Sunday 29 May 2016 09:22

Zika can leave babies with under-developed brains if their mothers are infected

(GETTY)

A leading health expert has warned tourists to "think twice" about visiting parts of the US, including Walt Disney World in Florida, because of the future threat of the Zika virus in the country.

Pregnant women and couples looking to conceive should be particularly wary of going on holiday to southern states such as Florida, Texas and Louisiana, according to Jimmy Whitworth, Professor of International Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

There are fears the Olympic Games in Brazil this summer could facilitate the spread of Zika, which has been connected to birth defects in babies if their mothers are infected during pregnancy.

In a letter to the World Health Organisation, 150 of the world’s top doctors, researchers and medical ethicists demanded the event be moved or at least postponed. But the WHO rejected these calls, claiming the Games would “not significantly alter” the spread of the virus.

Mr Whitworth suggests the situation could worsen with the onset of summer weather, allowing mosquitoes to flourish.

He told The Mail on Sunday: “At the moment, if you said to me, ‘I’m going to Disney World tomorrow,’ I’d say, ‘Go for it! That’s fine’.

“Because we don’t think there’s any Zika in mosquitoes in the US right now. But will there be, in two or three months’ time? Well, there might be, as the situation might change.”

Mr Whitworth said pregnant women and those trying for a baby “need to consider their plans and, if there is an alternative to going to those parts of the US, strongly consider it.”

He added: “They should think twice and seek up-to-date expert advice.”

Battling the zika virus - in pictures

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1/19Battling the zika virus - in pictures

A worker of the Salvadorean Ministry of Health fumigates a house in Soyapango, 6 kilometers from San Salvador, El Salvador. Salvadorean authorities have began a three days campaign of fumigation to reduce the presence of the mosquito that transmit the Zika virus.

EPA/Oscar Rivera

A Health Ministry employee fumigates a home against the Aedes aegypti mosquito to prevent the spread of the Zika virus in Soyapango, six km east of San Salvador. Health authorities have issued a national alert against the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, because of the link between the Zika virus and microcephaly and Guillain-BarrÈ Syndrome in foetuses.

AFP PHOTO/Marvin RECINOSMarvin RECINOS/AFP/Getty Images

A pediatric infectologist examines a two-months-old baby, who has microcephaly, on 26 January 2016 in Recife, Brazil.

Getty Images

A woman walks through the fumes as Health Ministry employee fumigate against the Aedes aegypti mosquito to prevent the spread of the Zika virus in Soyapango.

Marvin RECINOS/AFP/Getty Images

A health ministry employee sprays to eliminate breeding sites of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which transmits diseases such as the dengue, chicunguna and Zica viruses, in a Tegucigalpa cemetery on January 21, 2016. The medical school at the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) recommended that women in the country avoid getting pregnant for the time being due to the presence of the Zika virus. If a pregnant woman is infected by the virus, the baby could be born with microcephaly.

AFP PHOTO/Orlando SIERRA

A man walks away from his home with his son as health workers fumigates the Altos del Cerro neighbourhood as part of preventive measures against the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases in Soyapango, El Salvador

REUTERS/Jose Cabezas

A three-months-old, who has microcephaly, in Recife, Brazil.

Getty Images

A pregnant woman waits to be attended at the Maternal and Children's Hospital in Tegucigalpa. The medical school at the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) recommended that women in the country avoid getting pregnant for the time being due to the presence of the Zika virus. If a pregnant woman is infected by the virus, the baby could be born with microcephaly.

ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty Images

Army soldiers apply insect repellent as they prepare for a clean up operation against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is a vector for transmitting the Zika virus in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

AP Photo/Andre Penner

Workers disinfect the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro to fight the spread of the Zika virus

Dr. Vanessa Van Der Linden, the neuro-pediatrician who first recognized the microcephaly crisis in Brazil, measures the head of a 2-month-old baby with microcephaly in Recife

Mother Mylene Helena Ferreira cares for her son David Henrique Ferreira, 5 months, who has microcephaly, on January 25, 2016 in Recife, Brazil. In the last four months, authorities have recorded close to 4,000 cases in Brazil in which the mosquito-borne Zika virus may have led to microcephaly in infants

Getty Images

U.S. women who are pregnant from traveling to many South American countries

In the last four months, authorities have recorded close to 4,000 cases in Brazil in which the mosquito-borne Zika virus may have led to microcephaly in infants.

Getty Images

Dr. Vanessa Van Der Linden, the neuro-pediatrician who first recognized the microcephaly crisis in Brazil, examines a two-month-old baby with microcephaly on January 27, 2016 in Recife, Brazil

Washington Post

The US Senate this month voted to set aside $1.1 billion in emergency funding to fight the ongoing threat of the Zika virus. The US has only seen 591 travel-related cases of Zika, all described as “travel-associated cases”, according to the Center for Disease Control.

Public Health England said it was “monitoring the international situation closely”.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) deems Zika a “public health emergency of international concern”.

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