I’m definitely not an alarmist! I traveled with my own children in the early months of their lives, often to relatively remote locales with minimal resources at hand. I have, like many of my patient families, tried to be prepared while traveling, but never neurotic about travel in general. I want to see the world with my children, not in their absence. But just as we would avoid a war-torn region, disease risk at your travel destination needs to be considered.

Unfortunately, the Zika virus warrants our attention and if you are pregnant, perhaps a change to your travel itinerary. This virus is transmitted via mosquitos and generally results in a relatively mild syndrome – often just a fever, muscle aches, red eyes and a rash. There is no treatment, but as it is self-limited and sometimes subclinical, people often fail to realize they have been infected. However, in a pregnant woman, the fetus too can be affected and resultant brain damage has been clearly shown to occur. In fact, microcephalic (small head) newborns are being born with alarming frequency in areas hit by the Zika virus. Tragically, some fetuses fail to survive the insult altogether. Due to this deleterious secondary effect of infection, the CDC is officially warning pregnant women against travel to areas struggling with an outbreak of this virus. In addition, the CDC is now providing clear recommendations regarding conception attempts post travel to areas endemic with Zika.