According to a survey by Nebraska-based travel management
company Executive Travel, 49% of respondents said they would avoid traveling to
a country with Zika virus cases.
The company asked 880 travelers, “Would the threat of the
Zika virus keep you from traveling this year to any reported infected areas
(i.e. South and Central America, Caribbean and parts of Mexico)?”
“It appears that travelers are taking the Zika virus
threat very seriously as almost half of those surveyed said it would have a
negative impact on them traveling to infected areas,” said Steve Glenn, CEO of
Executive Travel. “We are seeing this especially among young families and
female travelers in the child-bearing ages who are taking a
better-safe-than-sorry posture by avoiding travel to reported infected areas.”
The mosquito-borne Zika virus poses the biggest threat to
pregnant women because of its potential link to birth defects. The CDC
recommends that pregnant women postpone travel to countries where the virus has
been actively transmitted.