Katie Aslesen should be dipping her toes in the crystal clear waters of Cozumel island.

Instead, the four-months pregnant Minnesota native and her husband traded their Caribbean Sea babymoon -- a vacation for parents-to-be -- for Cocoa Beach, Florida. They made the last- minute switch to escape possible exposure to the mosquito-borne Zika virus spreading across the Americas. Zika may cause babies to be born with microcephaly, a birth defect that causes brain damage and abnormally small heads.

Aslesen, 26, first heard of it “from news on Facebook, and then it was everywhere the next day: news stations, talk shows, CDC website. Not to mention the handful of family members calling, texting or Facebooking us advising us not to travel,” the first-time expectant mother said. Cocoa Beach “may not be as warm as Cozumel, Mexico, but at least our child is safe.”

Scientists currently can’t calculate the risk that contracting Zika during pregnancy will have negative consequences for the unborn child, but soon-to-be parents and affected countries aren’t taking any chances. El Salvador officials suggested women delay conception until 2018 because of the epidemic. Colombia, Ecuador and Jamaica called for shorter delays; the virus hasn’t even been confirmed in Jamaica yet.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised women to consider postponing travel to Zika-affected areas and take precautions against mosquito bites if they do go. The World Health Organization expects the virus will reach parts of every nation in the Americas except Canada and continental Chile, the two places that aren’t home to the type of mosquito that spreads it.

“The possible links, only recently suspected, have rapidly changed the risk profile of Zika, from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions,” WHO Director General Margaret Chan said Thursday.

Mexico, included on the CDC’s travel-alert list, was one of last year’s hottest babymoon destinations, according to website fitpregnancy.com, which recommends Riviera Nayarit on the country’s Pacific coast, along with Kauai, Hawaii, and Sedona, Arizona, which aren’t on the list.

Jay Guerrero, sales director of Colibri Boutique Hotels, a group of five luxury properties on the Mexican coast of Tulum, said monetary damage has been small so far. Mexico has 18 confirmed cases of the virus, but none in Tulum’s state of Quintana Roo, the Health Ministry press office said.

“We’ve had a couple of cancellations, mostly from first- time moms-to-be, and calls here and there from tourists who are worried,” Guerrero said. He oversees hotel La Zebra, located on the main stretch of Tulum’s beach, where tourists rest on lounge chairs made from wooden-boat frames. “It’s inconvenient, of course, because the cancellations are last minute, but it’s understandable.”


Cancellations, Refunds

First « 1 2 » Next