3. Travel advice
During the most recent Zika outbreak in South and Central America, travel advice was very much based around lines such as ‘avoid all but essential travel’, with pregnant women, or indeed women who might have been pregnant, advised to stay away from these areas and countries altogether. The countries affected were put in a difficult position, knowing that trade and tourism would be likely affected, but still with a wide-reaching duty of care to anyone who was maybe planning to visit their country.
Although the headlines have disappeared and the next news item has replaced the Zika scare stories, for the people living in these affected areas, the story remains the same. With that in mind, so too should the travel advice, regardless of the impact this could potentially have on a country’s economy. All but essential travel should be avoided, with pregnant women avoiding Zika areas altogether. It simply isn’t worth the risk.