As you may have heard in the news, there have been a few mosquito spread diseases, especially Zika and chikungunya viruses, which have been spreading throughout Central and South America in the last few months. Of course there are many risks in traveling abroad and, as with other risks, we want to be as preventative as possible to mitigate illness.

We suggest you read the CDC’s website for more information on Zika and chikungunya viruses.

Recommendations for Prevention

1. Take precautionary measures to avoid mosquito bites; use mosquito repellant, clothing, and mosquito nets to prevent bites as much as possible.

2. If anyone is pregnant or trying to get pregnant, we do not recommend that they travel to Nicaragua with SOL this year.

3. The CDC includes Nicaragua as one country with reports of ongoing transmission of Zika, and is listed as an Alert- Level 2: Practice Enhanced Precautions.

4. Please contact Seeds of Learning as soon as possible if you have any additional concerns or questions or are not sure if you are wanting to travel to Nicaragua due to this risk.

5. Per our materials, we continue to recommend that each volunteer consult with a health care professional about any and all travel illness concerns including these viruses.