Remember Zika? It hasn’t gone away, but some travellers are now shrugging off the risks

A survey of travellers’ concerns from TravelZoo found that Zika ranked lower than any number of security concerns for Americans planning vacations this spring

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Heloisa, who has a twin sister named Heloa, both 10 months old and both born with microcephaly, is pictured at her house in Areia, Paraiba state, Brazil, on February 8. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:03pm, 23 Feb 2017Updated: 6:58pm, 23 Feb 2017

Zika hasn’t gone away, but as the mosquito-borne virus has faded from the headlines, travellers seem less concerned about it than they were last year.

“We had a big downturn in honeymoon business last year,” said Hans Pfister, who owns the Lapa Rios Lodge in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula. This year, he says, “is the opposite. A real boom of honeymooners. I guess everybody is catching up. We don’t get asked questions anymore. Right now is the dry season and it is not an issue. When the rainy season starts again, we stick with our recommendation that if you are pregnant, don’t come.”

He theorised that ever since Zika was detected in Florida, “it lost some of its scariness”.

Another reason Zika headlines have faded is because mosquitoes are less prevalent in late fall and winter, but “we’re entering into the phase where the season might be picking up,” said Bryan Lewis, a research associate professor at Virginia Tech’s Biocomplexity Institute. “This time last year was when it was starting to take off.”

Gleyse Kelly da Silva and Felipe da Silva are the parents of 15-month-old Giovanna Santos, who suffers from microcephaly because of the Zika virus. The parents, here with Giovanna and two of their other three children, live in Recife, Brazil. Photo: The Washington Post / Joao Pina

And just because Zika “has fallen off the radar” doesn’t mean travellers shouldn’t be vigilant, said Dr Kristy Murray, director of Texas Children’s Hospital’s Laboratory for Viral and Zoonotic Diseases.

With mosquito season coming up in many regions, “we are worried about new introductions and local transmission,” she said. “If anyone is pregnant or planning to become pregnant, then it is wise to discourage travel to areas where Zika is currently being transmitted, particularly southern Texas and Florida, Mexico into Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.”