An On Call International survey found that 64% of Americans would cancel their travel plans to a country affected by Zika virus.
The travel risk management company used a Google Consumer Survey fielded to 1,934 U.S. consumers over 18. Of those surveyed, 37.8% said they would cancel travel plans to a Zika-affected country, while 26.3% said they would cancel plans if their doctor advised them to do so.
Twenty-one percent said they would not cancel their plans, and 15% said not only would they not cancel their plans, but they also believe travel to Zika-affected countries is safe.
The survey further broke down responses and found that women were more likely to cancel their plans than men.
The mosquito-borne Zika virus has been reported in more than 20 countries in the Caribbean and South and Central America, and poses the greatest risk to pregnant women.
Zika virus is suspected to be linked to microcephaly, incomplete brain development in babies, and may have caused some cases of Guillaine-Barre syndrome, in which the body’s immune system attacks the nervous system, sometimes resulting in paralysis.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has put a travel alert in place recommending pregnant women postpone travel to Zika-affected countries.
On Call International’s survey found that 40.7% of women said they would cancel their travel plans, and 27.8% said they would cancel plans if advised to do so by their doctor. Meanwhile, 34.7% of males said they would cancel their plans, and 24.6% said they would do so on their doctor’s advice.
Fewer women (19.9%) than men (22.1%) said they would not cancel their plans. Even fewer women (11.6%) said they wouldn’t cancel plans and believe travel to Zika-affected countries is safe, while 18.6% of men chose that option.
By age, those ages 18-24 and 25-34 were more likely than the average to cancel trips based on their doctor’s advice. An older crowd of 55-plus was more likely than the average to flat-out cancel their travel plans.
On Call International further broke down responses from women in the 25-34 age range, and found that 33% would cancel their plans and 36.5% would cancel based on their doctor’s advice. Another 20.1% of women would not cancel their plans, and 10.4% said they would not cancel their plans and believe travel to Zika-affected countries is safe…
