Zika State of Emergency lifted in Brazil

THE Brazilian government has declared the end of the state of emergency related to the Zika virus.Tony Mason, CEO of the Latin American Travel Association (LATA), says:

“The Brazilian government had confirmed that cases of the Zika virus are now down by 95% in comparison to 2016. This refers specifically to the first 100 days of the year which corresponds to the hottest period of the year in #Brazil when the mosquito population is at its highest.

This announcement comes 18 months after a surge in cases of the #Zika virus drew headlines from around the world. In response to the outbreak, Brazil launched a mosquito eradication campaign which the health ministry claims has helped reduce cases of the Zika virus dramatically. 

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Zika travel warning

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new travel advice for 11 Southeast Asian countries, advising pregnant women to consider postponing nonessential travel to Southeast Asian countries with reports of the #Zika virus infection.

The 11 countries on the list are:

• Brunei
• Burma (Myanmar)
• Cambodia
• Indonesia
• Laos
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Philippines
• Thailand
• Timor-Leste (East Timor)
• Vietnam

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Picture Credit: 118149703@N04/29036456273 Twenty Six Weeks via photopin.com

Zika in Singapore

OUT of 329 reported cases of the #Zika virus in #Singapore 8 pregnant women have been infected and the Ministry of Health and National Environment Agency are working together to provide support to the infected women

The WHO is calling on countries to eliminate mosquito breeding sites and to make sure that people – particularly pregnant women – have information on the potential harmful consequences of the disease.

Zika has been linked to a rise in brain defects in babies and the virus has been seen in more than 50 countries during this outbreak.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Florida tourism officials braced for impact after Zika outbreak

THE WARNING by the Centres For Disease Control in the US about #Zika has sent ripples of concern through #Florida.

Local officials in Miami are confident they will contain the Zika virus from spreading, but they are far less confident about the hysteria that surrounds the outbreak and its impact on the $89 billion tourism juggernaut.

‘Yes, I'm losing sleep,’ Santiago Corrada, the head of Hillsborough County's tourism agency, Visit Tampa Bay, told TampaBay.com.

The problem is that cities across Florida face an identity crisis when travellers think of the area. ‘Florida gets painted with a broad brush stroke,’ says David Downing, executive director of Visit St. Pete-Clearwater.

Industry analysts such as Miami-based hotel consultant Scott Brush say the impact could build throughout the coming months.

‘It’s probably going to have a measurable effect in part because the summer is more voluntary, last-minute tourism. It’s mostly leisure and is more easily postponed or changed than business travel,’ Mr Brush told the Miami Herald. ‘So yes, I think there will be a measurable effect and that measure may be very small, but you don’t know. This is very early on.’

Orange County mayor Teresa Jacobs has talked about the state’s theme parks and their efforts in mosquito control. ‘If you’re coming to Florida as a tourist, if you’re coming to the theme parks, then you’re coming to some of the safest places in the world because they have mosquito control down like no place else,’

Officials from Disney World and Universal Orlando have yet to address the Miami Zika outbreak, but Orlando officials say that the theme parks have larger mosquito control operations inside their gates than the sizeable budgets of most local governments.

The Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau isn’t downplaying the threat, but officials are stressing that the outbreak is contained in a small radius.

‘Pregnant women are encouraged to visit all of Miami-Dade County — except one square mile. That’s what the UK says, that’s what the Centres For Disease Control says,” said William Talbert, president and CEO of the Miami tourism bureau.

‘This community has a long track record of dealing with these mosquitoes. The situation can change tomorrow, we know that, and we’ll stay engaged with everybody as this evolves.’

Florida has welcomed a record number of visitors each year since 2011, and hopes to attract 115 million visitors this year.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Zika warning for Europe – ‘moderate’ risk in France, Spain, Italy & Greece

THE ZIKA virus could travel east to Europe this summer, says the World Health Organization (WHO). The likelihood of an outbreak is low to moderate. Areas most at risk are those where Aedes mosquitoes could spread the virus, such as the Black Sea coast of Russia and Georgia and the island of Madeira. Countries with a moderate risk include France, Spain, Italy and Greece, while the risk in the UK is low.

The WHO is calling on countries to eliminate mosquito breeding sites and to make sure that people – particularly pregnant women – have information on the potential harmful consequences of the disease.

Zika has been linked to a rise in brain defects in babies and the virus has been seen in more than 50 countries during this outbreak.

Professor Jimmy Whitworth, at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, says the risk of Zika spreading to Europe was real and called for holidaymakers to heed health advice. ‘The main mosquito vector for Zika, Aedes aegypti, is only found in Madeira and around the Black Sea, but another mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is more widespread and is capable of transmitting Zika, although not very efficiently.

‘Countries in Southern Europe, including France and Italy, need to be especially vigilant and it's important that holidaymakers follow public health advice while abroad, including taking all the necessary precautions to avoid getting bitten.

‘This is especially so for pregnant women, or women planning to become pregnant, travelling to areas where there is Zika, as there is now a proven link with microcephaly and other birth defects.’

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Thomson gives pregnant women option to avoid Zika-hit countries

#THOMSON has offering pregnant women travelling to a number of countries hit by the #Zikavirus to amend their booking free of charge. It will offer free amendments to pregnant women due to travel on charter packages to Zika-infected countries before April 30. Women who have a doctor's note confirming their pregnancy can switch to another destination up to October 31 this year.

Its offer is available to women travelling to Mexico, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Cape Verde, Panama, Colombia, and Martinique.

The decision comes as the World Health Organisation announced it was setting up a Zika emergency team to fight the virus, which has been linked to thousands of babies being born with small brains in Brazil and has now spread to more than 20 countries in the region.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Pregnant woman advised to avoid countries with Zika outbreaks

PREGNANT women are being advised to re-consider travel to areas where #Zikavirus outbreaks are happening, which includes most of south and Central America and parts of the Caribbean, including Barbados and the Dominican Republic.

The virus usually causes only mild symptoms in adults, but it is blamed for thousands of babies born with underdeveloped brains.

It has been spreading throughout the Americas and the World Health Organisation said it is likely to infect most countries in the region, except Canada and Chile.

Three Britons have already contracted the virus after visiting Colombia, Suriname, and Guyana.

UK officials say women should talk to their doctors about the risks, and if travel is unavoidable they should take precautions to avoid bites from mosquitoes that spread the disease.

Women planning to become pregnant should also be wary, said the National Travel Health Network and Centre. Any pregnant woman who has recently travelled to a country where Zika is known to occur should tell their doctor or midwife, it said.

An outbreak of the Zika virus in Brazil, which was first reported in May last year, is likely to cause concern for women planning to travel to the country for the next Olympic Games.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK