If you are in a country where Zika is spreading you should head for the hills, sort of, according to a new recommendation from the federal government.
Since January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued warnings for pregnant women and women of childbearing age to delay travel to countries where Zika is spreading. The reason is a potential link to a birth defect.
The CDC said on Friday that the travel warning is still in effect, but altered it to say that if you are above 6,500 feet there is a minimal chance of getting the virus from a mosquito bite, the primary mode of transmission.
The agency said higher ground appears to indicate the “probable absence” of Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that spreads Zika. That means that getting the virus through a mosquito bite at higher elevations appears minimal, the CDC said.
While Zika is mainly spread through mosquito bites, cases of sexual transmission also have been found.
