The Zika virus is a flavivirus, part of the same family as yellow fever, West Nile, chikungunya and dengue. But unlike some of those viruses, there is no vaccine to prevent Zika or medicine to treat the infection.
So far, the greatest known risk from Zika is to pregnant women. Pregnant women are at risk of their babies’ developing birth defects such as microcephaly from the disease. Microcephaly is a condition where the baby’s head is born smaller than it should be, compared to babies of the same sex and age.
Pregnant women in any trimester should consider postponing travel to the areas where Zika virus transmission is ongoing. Pregnant women who do travel to one of these areas should talk to their doctor or other healthcare provider first and strictly follow steps to avoid mosquito bites during the trip.
More info: http://www.cdc.gov/zika/hc-providers/qa-pregnant-women.html
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