Planning to travel for Spring Break while pregnant? Read this updated data and review from the CDC about your risk for Zika.
After a review of current data on the spread of Zika throughout the world, CDC is updating its Zika travel guidance for pregnant women and couples who may want to become pregnant. Some areas of the world continue to experience outbreaks of Zika. Other areas have confirmed Zika in the past, but may not have recent cases. CDC now recommends pregnant women and couples trying to become pregnant within the next three months talk to their healthcare providers and carefully consider the risks and possible consequences of Zika infection before traveling to areas that report past or current spread of Zika but no current outbreak. CDC’s recommendation that pregnant women not travel to areas where a Zika outbreak is occurring has not changed.
CDC collaborated with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) to review all scientific data available on the spread of Zika for every country of the world. Based on currently available data, the spread of Zika is no longer at the same high levels seen during the main outbreak period in the Americas during 2015 to 2017. As a result of the review, CDC updated its Zika travel guidance.
To assist pregnant women and others in identifying geographic areas of risk, CDC published an updated interactive World Map of Areas with Zika where users can search for location-specific Zika information and recommendations. The interactive World Map of Areas with Risk of Zika highlights areas with a current Zika outbreak in red; areas with current or past spread of Zika but no current outbreak are purple.
CDC has updated an interactive “Know Your Zika Risk” tool that offers tailored risk and prevention messages based on information provided by travelers. For more information on Zika, visit http://www.cdc.gov/zika.
