Zika travel advisory issued for Phl

The Philippines is among 11 countries in Southeast Asia covered by the Zika travel advisory issued by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to its citizens.

Based on the travel advisory, pregnant women were discouraged from traveling to the region that is now reporting cases of Zika virus.

“CDC recommends pregnant women should consider postponing non-essential trav- el to Southeast Asia countries with reports of Zika virus infection from local transmission or related to travel to those countries,” the advisory read.

Aside from the Philippines, the other nations in the list are Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam.

CDC had announced that if traveling to these countries could not be avoided, pregnant women should consult their doctors.

The agency also said that those going to these countries should protect themselves against mosquitoes by using repellents; wearing longsleeved shirts, long pants, socks and a hat; and using bed nets in areas where they are staying.

It also noted that avoiding sex or using condoms could also help minimize the risk of acquiring Zika virus through sexual contact.

In the Philippines, the Department of Health ( DOH) had recorded a total of 12 Zika cases this year, including a pregnant woman from Cebu.

DOH spokesman Eric Tayag said the travel notice was issued for Americans to be better informed of the risk of traveling to countries that have reports of Zika virus.

“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,” Tayag said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs ( DFA) said the issuance of a travel warning by the CDC was a public health measure.

“Since it’s the US CDC that issued the advisory, it should be viewed and approached as a public health issue,” DFA spokesman Charles Jose said.

Jose said the issue would best be referred to the DOH.

“The DOH would thus be in a better position to comment on it,” he said.

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