CDC Update: Pregnant Women Can Travel To High-Altitude Zika Areas

CDC Zika Virus travel pregnant High-altitude brazil South America

By Samantha Teran , Parent Herald Mar 23, 05:30 am

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention's advice to pregnant women who may want to travel to Zika-affected areas is to get high—above 6,500 ft. to be exact. High-altitude areas, such as Mexico City, lack the humidity that mosquitoes which carry the said virus thrive in.

The threat of the Zika virus to pregnant women has risen at an alarming rate when an increase in birth defects in Brazil was linked with the outbreak of the virus. The virus causes microcephaly in newborns, a condition where the infant's head is abnormally small and the brain hasn't fully developed.

WHO Predicts 2,500 Cases Of Microcephaly In Brazil: https://t.co/OTImluNYBw

— Virginia Hughes (@virginiahughes) March 22, 2016

Mashable lists the countries which have been given the go-ahead by the CDC, among these are Aruba, Barbados, Brazil, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and more. The CDC also provided maps showing the high-altitude areas of these countries where the virus is claimed to be rare. This is the CDC's response to concerns that the restrictions may affect trade and tourism in these countries while assuring its findings are scientifically proven as well.

However, in some countries, this new travel notice may not make much of a difference. Guatemala for example, while having plenty of high-altitude areas, has its major international airports located below. Live Science reports that this is a big deal because passing through these low areas already increases one's chance of being bitten and contracting the virus. Brazil meanwhile will be having its summer Olympics as well, which it hopes will bring in the tourists but unfortunately is located in a low area.

Summer Olympics host #Brazil looking over the abyss. Talking today w @Lise_Alves in Sao Paulo. Some background. https://t.co/PuUdwexZ3x — Charles Adler (@charlesadler) March 21, 2016

Despite this recent travel lift having its flaws, all traveling pregnant women need to do is to slather on that mosquito repellent generously and wear long sleeves and long pants while passing through airports before reaching higher ground.