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Planning trips? What you need to know about the Zika virus

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The Zika virus has some people changing their summer vacation plans to the Caribbean or Mexico.

Experts say most people won’t develop symptoms at all, but about one in five people will develop a mild illness: fever, rash, joint pain, conjunctivitis.

The CDC adds, many people won’t even realized they’ve been infected, and if they do, they usually don’t get sick enough to go the hospital.

Right now, doctors say the main concern is for pregnant women. Women who are pregnant are advised not to travel to areas where the Zika virus is being transmitted, because of the link to the birth defect microcephaly.

If you’re a woman considering getting pregnant, or a man who may be considering getting pregnant with their partner, experts recommend contacting your health care provider.

“We think that a woman who has Zika virus infection and recovers, it will not have any impact on future pregnancies, however, she may wish to wait for a period of time after she returns. Talk to your health care provider about how long to wait,” said Dr. Jen Brown, Indiana State Public Health Veterinarian.

Brown says everyone else needs to weigh the pros and cons, and take precautions against mosquitoes when they do travel.Here is a current travel information from the CDC.

As far as travel within the United States, Brown says all cases in the country have been associated with travel. She says we have not yet seen any cases transmitted by mosquitoes here in the United States.

Experts say some states do have the type of mosquito that can transmit the Zika virus, like Florida. They say those states are actively looking for local cases, but haven’t found any.

“As of right now, I wouldn’t advise people to cancel travel [to areas within the United States] because we don’t have any evidence that local transmission is occurring there,” said Brown.

For more information on the Zika virus, click here.