CDC Adds Peru To Zika Affected Travel Destinations

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/zika-travel-information

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The list of travel destinations with active Zika transmission continues to increase, with the CDC adding Peru to the list last night.  Others include:

• Zika Virus in Cape Verde
• Zika Virus in Mexico
• The Caribbean
  Currently includes: Aruba; Barbados; Bonaire; Cuba; Curaçao; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Guadeloupe; Haiti; Jamaica; Martinique; the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a US territory; Saint Lucia; Saint Martin; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Sint Maarten; Trinidad and Tobago; US Virgin Islands
• Central America
  Currently includes: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
• The Pacific Islands
  Currently includes: American Samoa, Fiji, Kosrae (Federated States of Micronesia), Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga
• South America
  Currently includes: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela
• 2016 Summer Olympics (Rio 2016)

As previously mentioned, there may be other regions where Zika is intermittently transmitting, but it has not yet been verified.  

The smart play is to take precautions against mosquito bites, no matter where you are in the world, as Zika is far from the only mosquito-borne illness of concern.

  The full announcement on Peru follows:

CDC adds Peru to interim travel guidance related to Zika virus

Media Statement

For Immediate Release: Thursday, May 05, 2016 Contact: Media Relations,
(404) 639-3286

CDC is working with other public health officials to monitor for ongoing Zika virus‎ transmission. Today, CDC posted a Zika virus travel notice for Peru. CDC has issued travel notices (level 2, “practice enhanced precautions”) for people traveling to destinations with Zika. For a full list of affected countries/regions, visit http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/zika-travel-information.

As more information becomes available, CDC’s travel notices will be updated. 

Travelers to areas with cases of Zika virus infection are at risk of being infected with the Zika virus. Mosquitoes that spread Zika are aggressive daytime biters. They also bite at night. There is no vaccine or medicine for Zika virus. The best way to avoid Zika virus infection is to prevent mosquito bites. 

Some travelers to areas with Zika will become infected while traveling but will not become sick until they return home and they might not have any symptoms. To help stop the spread of Zika, travelers should use insect repellent for three weeks after travel to prevent mosquito bites.

Some people who are infected do not have any symptoms. People who do have symptoms have reported fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes. The sickness is usually mild with symptoms that last from several days to a week. Severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon and the number of deaths is low. Travelers to areas with Zika should monitor for symptoms or sickness upon return. If they become sick, they should tell their healthcare professional when and where they have traveled.

CDC has received reports of Zika virus being spread by sexual contact with sick returning travelers. Until more is known, CDC continues to recommend that pregnant women and women trying to become pregnant take the following precautions.

Pregnant women

• Should not travel to any area with Zika.
• If you must travel to or live in one of these areas, talk to your healthcare provider first and strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito bites.
• If you have a male partner who lives in or has traveled to an area with Zika, either use condoms, the right way, every time you have sex or do not have sex during your pregnancy.

Women trying to get pregnant

• Before you or your male partner travel, talk to your healthcare provider about your plans to become pregnant and the risk of Zika virus infection.
• You and your male partner should strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito bites.

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is very likely triggered by Zika in a small proportion of infections, much as it is after a variety of other infections. CDC is working with Brazil to study the possibility of a link between Zika and GBS. For more information on Zika, visit www.cdc.gov/zika.