The Zika virus has been in existence for many years around the world and it can only be caught from those specific mosquitos that carry the virus or through unprotected sex with an individual that has caught it already.
Only around 1 in 5 people infected develop any symptoms at all and the virus is not considered as a serious risk to either adults or children in good health.
There is a small health risk to unborn babies and so pregnant mothers with plans to travel to identified cities where the Zika virus is present, have been advised by the Government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office to postpone non-essential travel to the affected area. While Zika is present throughout the Caribbean and Mexico, the only area currently designated as having the Zika virus within the USA is specifically Miami/Dade county. The risk in the rest of Florida (including Orlando) is considered as just moderate and pregnant women should only consider postponing non-essential travel until after the pregnancy.
As the Tour Operator, we are responsible for providing your holiday under our own standard terms and conditions and these may differ from the terms of an airline or any product that we supply as part of your holiday. While we will not be offering refunds to pregnant customers, we will be assisting them to postpone their trip in conjunction with government advice. Where possible, we will also arrange to transfer the booking to an alternative destination or arrange for a ‘name-change’ to enable another traveller to replace a pregnant customer not wishing to travel. Should customers wish to cancel, our normal booking conditions do still apply but they can make a claim for any losses directly to their travel insurer. Pregnant customers that would like us to assist amend their travel itinerary should send us a copy of their MAT B1 form signed by their doctor or midwife to the email address shown below.
For health related information regarding the Zika virus we recommend that you follow ABTA’s guidance by visiting their web page: health & medical information
If you have any specific questions relating to a particular booking, please click here to advise us and we will respond as quickly as possible.
