LAUSANNE – Statement from the FISU Medical Committee Chair, Dusan HAMAR, M.D.
Information for travellers visiting Zika affected countries including Brazil.
Based on available evidence, there are no general restrictions on travelling to countries, areas and/or territories with Zika virus transmission. Countries reporting sporadic Zika infections in travellers arriving from affected countries pose little, if any, risk of onward transmission.
Pregnant women should be advised not to travel to areas of ongoing Zika virus outbreaks. Any pregnant woman or traveller with special risk intending to travel to an area of risk should seek specific advice from their Family Physician.
Zika virus is primarily transmitted to people through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. Zika virus can also be transmitted through sex.
Until more is known about the risk of sexual transmission, all men and women returning from an area where Zika is circulating – especially pregnant women and their partners – should practice safe sex, including the correct and consistent use of condoms, or abstaining from sex for the duration of the pregnancy.
All travellers going to an area where locally acquired Zika infection is occurring should adhere closely to steps that can prevent mosquito bites during the trip. These include:
- – wearing clothes (preferably light-coloured) that cover as much of the body as possible;
- – using insect repellent;
- – sleeping under mosquito nets, especially during the day, when Aedes mosquitoes are most active;
- – using physical barriers such mesh screens or treated netting materials on doors and windows;
- – avoid visiting impoverished and over-crowded areas in cities and towns with no piped water and poor sanitation (ideal breeding grounds of mosquitoes) where the risk of being bitten is higher.
This subject will be discussed further during the General Technical meeting in Goiânia, Brazil.
For more information, please contact medical@fisu.net or championships@fisu.net or refer to WHO factsheet (www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/zika/en/).