Spring Break and Zika: How to Protect Yourself from Mosquitoes

WASHINGTON, March 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The spring travel season is here and travelers' excitement about soaking up some sun in a tropical locale is turning to concern about mosquitoes. In early 2015, the World Health Organization declared Zika virus a global public health threat. Currently, the virus is active in 24 countries, including several spring break destinations, with media coverage about it creating more questions than answers for spring break travelers.

Transmitted through Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquito bites, the Zika virus causes symptoms ranging from mild fever to a skin rash to conjunctivitis. Zika is a serious concern for pregnant women or women who may become pregnant as the virus is thought to be responsible for a birth defect called microcephaly (abnormal smallness of the head linked to incomplete brain development).

If you're traveling to one of the regions where the Zika virus mosquitoes are active, RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment)^® wants to offer four important steps you, your family and friends can take to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes.

• Put up personal barriers. Wear light-colored clothing and cover up with long sleeves and pants. Aedes mosquitoes fly during the day so cover up anytime you are outside whether daytime, dawn or dusk.
• Reinforce your habitat. Aedes breed indoors, and therefore, your home or hotel is a welcoming place to them. Make sure doors and screens are closed and in good repair to keep the biting insects outside.
• Apply mosquito-specific defenses. Be sure to apply EPA-approved insect repellent, like DEET, on exposed skin, especially your legs. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a variety of safe and effective repellents for you and your family.
• Eliminate sources of standing water. Do a quick survey of your vacation surroundings and ask to have any unnecessary standing water drained, such as buckets, drums, bottles, birdbaths, pet bowls, flowerpot saucers, and plastic wading pools, which attract mosquitoes and allow them to breed. Aedes mosquitoes can breed in containers as small as bottle caps, so pick up litter too.

In the contiguous United States, no cases have been reported of people acquiring the virus in the U.S.; however, more the 50 cases of people who acquired the disease while traveling have been reported to date. In addition, nine locally acquired cases have been reported in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Visit the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention website for the most current information about U.S. cases.

Access these additional resources for more information:

• Zika Virus: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Zika: How to React, Clarke Pest Control
• Zika Virus: World Health Organization

About RISE
Located in Washington, D.C., RISE is the national association representing the manufacturers, formulators, distributors and other industry leaders involved with pesticide and fertilizer products used in turf, ornamental, pest control, aquatic and terrestrial vegetation and other non-food/fiber applications.  Learn more about RISE at www.pestfacts.org and www.debugthemyths.com

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160315/344412-INFO

SOURCE RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment)

Related Links

http://www.pestfacts.org