Samantha Cartaino

The Business Travel Coalition (BTC) announced a new source for information on the Zika virus that is spreading rapidly across South and Central America. Its new <a href="http://www.businesstravelcoalition.com/zika.html#.VrDGqrTHiGs">Zika travel site</a> is updated daily with fresh information on what the World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday designated as a public health emergency of international concern. The site is intended to help travel managers to be fully aware of the risk associated with overseas trips. According to the WHO, there could be four million Zika infections in the Americas alone, and the virus is believed to pose a particular risk to pregnant women and their babies.

 


“To avoid panic, and unnecessarily canceled leisure or business trips, or worse outcomes, highly effective and timely communications and health organizations will be critically important on a number of subjects,” said BTC founder Kevin Mitchell. “Miscommunications, misunderstandings and rumors during the 2014 Ebola epidemic resulted in otherwise avoidable problems.”

 


The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro might also become a focus for concern since Brazil is considered the epicenter of the virus outbreak. Approximately 500,000 tourists and athletes from 206 countries are expected to travel to Brazil for the event in August.

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.