Zika virusZika virus expert: Tourists should “think twice” about going to Disney World
A leading public health expert has warned tourists to “think twice” about visiting parts of the United States, 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, he said.
Jimmy Whitworth, Professor of International Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has warned tourists to “think twice” about visiting parts of the United States, 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, he said.
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.
The Daily Mail reports that in a letter to the World Health Organization (WHO), 150 of the world’s top doctors, researchers and medical ethicists demanded the event be moved or at least postponed. The WHO rejected these calls, however, claiming the Games would “not significantly alter” the spread of the virus.
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 U.S. right now. But will there be, in two or three months’ time? Well, there might be, as the situation might change.”
Whitworth said that 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 U.S., strongly consider it.”
He added: “They should think twice and seek up-to-date expert advice.”
The Senate earlier this month voted to alloate $1.1 billion in emergency funding to fight the ongoing threat of the Zika virus. The United States has had only 591 travel-related cases of Zika, all described as “travel-associated cases” by the Center for Disease Control.
