United States public health officials are preparing for the inevitable arrival of the Zika Virus.
The Zika Virus is a mosquito-borne infection that has spread to more than 22 countries all over the globe, including the U.S.
The Aedes mosquito carries the virus and the virus is expected to reach any location where the Aedes mosquito lives. This includes every country except Canada and Chile. According to the World Health Organization, the Zika virus could infect as many as four million people by the end of the year.
Luckily, the virus poses little threat to most people. Symptoms include: fever, rash, joint and muscle pain and red eyes, but only one in five people exhibit symptoms.
Although the virus seems to be nothing but a mild inconvenience for most, it does pose a big threat to pregnant women. A link has been found between pregnant women infected with the virus and their child being born with brain damage and abnormally small heads.
The Center for Disease Control issued a travel alert earlier this month warning pregnant women to avoid travel to countries where the virus is most likely to spread, including Middle and South America, as well as various Caribbean Islands.
International air travel will help to spread the virus more rapidly, which makes college students looking to vacation abroad for spring break especially susceptible. Although the virus cannot spread from person to person, it is possible for a mosquito carrying the virus to find its way onto a plane and infect passengers.
Krisheena Carter, junior communication major, said she is spending her spring break vacation in Cabo, Mexico and expressed concern when learning about the Zika Virus in the Americas.
“It’s scary anytime I hear about an unfamiliar virus coming to the United States,” Carter said. “It may not seem like it poses a big threat now, but there is no way you can predict how each individual person will react to the virus.”
On the other hand, some students are not going to let the Zika virus stop them from having a great vacation.
Peyton Wardlaw, junior communication major, said she is not buying into the hype of the Zika virus.
“Every few years a new virus makes its way to America and causes a nationwide panic, but never blows up like the media and health officials predict,” Wardlaw said. “By spring break, I wouldn’t be surprised if no one was talking about the virus anymore.”
The travel industry is becoming proactive as travelers start to rethink their trips amid the growing concern of the virus. United Airlines, JetBlue, Virgin America and American Airlines are allowing passengers who have tickets to infected areas to get full refunds for their trip or postpone their travel. Students planning to travel should speak to their airline agencies for more information on travel options during this time.
