Zika Travel Advisory Issued For The Philippines
Zika Travel Advisory Issued – A Zika travel advisory has been issued for the Philippines and to other Southeast Asian countries by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to all Americans.
In a report by PhilStar, pregnant women were not encouraged to travel in the said Asian region as Zika virus cases have been reported.
“CDC recommends pregnant women should consider postponing non-essential travel to Southeast Asia countries with reports of Zika virus infection from local transmission or related to travel to those countries,” as quoted from the report.
The other Asian countries that have been issued with the advisory were Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam.
But, the report added that if travelling to these countries won’t be prevented, pregnant women need to consult their doctors first.
In order to prevent themselves from mosquito bites, they are advised to use insect repellants, wearing long pants, long-sleeved shirts, hats, and socks. Also, they can even use bed nets when sleeping.
Another thing that has been advised in the advisory is refraining from “love-making”. It is also recommended to use cond0ms in order to minimize the chances of having Zika virus.
The said travel advisory was given to all Americans for them to be informed about the risk of travelling to countries with reported cases of the Zika virus as said by DOH spokesman Eric Tayag.
“This is for non-essential travel and therefore not a total travel restriction. This is because risk of infection is unknown but still lower than Singapore, for which total travel restrictions were issued instead,” said Tayag.
The DOH already recorded 12 cases of Zika virus in the Philippines this year including a pregnant woman from Cebu.
What do you think of the travel advisory issued by the US for the Philippines and for other Asian countries?
