So should businesses scrap any planned work trips to the parts of Central and South America that are most affected by Zika? The answer here, unfortunately, is as complicated as the wording of the official alerts.
So much about Zika remains unknown. Most alarming seems to be a spike in microcephaly—abnormally small heads in babies born of women who contracted the virus. But even here, the World Health Organisation doesn’t go so far as to establish a definite link between the two, saying that “more investigation is needed”. Even less certain is the relationship between Zika and Guillain-Barré syndrome, which causes temporary paralysis. Zika’s transmission also remains poorly understood. There is growing evidence that the mostly mosquito-borne virus may also be passed on through sexual contact.