The Daily Telegraph has reported that the UK government is advising the approximately 50,000 British holidaymakers currently in Florida should avoid unprotected sex for the rest of the summer holidays because of the risk from Zika virus.
An outbreak of four mosquito-transmitted cases yesterday prompted Public Health England (PHE) to advise pregnant women to consider postponing non-essential travel to the southern US state.
But for the large numbers of British tourists already there, the presence of the virus means that they should refrain from sex without a condom for eight weeks, even if neither partner has symptoms of the disease and there is no prospect of a pregnancy.
PHE advises that males returning from a Zika-affected area who show symptoms of the virus, which can include a rash, itching and headaches, should refrain from unprotected sex for a full six months to avoid onward transmission.
The guidance mirrors that given to Andy Murray and other members of the British Olympic team who are travelling to Rio.
More than 1,650 cases of Zika have been diagnosed in the US. However, this is thought to be the first time the disease has been spread by local insects, rather than as a result of foreign travel or sexual intercourse.
Zika causes only a mild illness in most people, but the infection in pregnant women has been strongly linked to foetal microcephaly, or abnormal smallness of the head in babies, and other severe birth defects.
More than 50 people have already tested positive for the virus in Britain after visiting infected countries since the outbreak started in May 2015.
