In this file photo provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a female Aedes aegypti mosquito in the process of acquiring a blood meal from a human host.

In a travel advisory issued on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health urged citizens who want to travel to countries affected by the Zika virus to exercise extreme caution.

The WHO has declared the mosquito-borne virus a public health emergency of international concern.

Health Ministry spokesman Faisal Al- Zahrani told Arab News on Tuesday that the ministry has listed virus-hit countries which are — Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Suriname, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Venezuela, Panama, Martinique, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Barbados, Guadeloupe, St. Martin, Guyana, Haiti, Bolivia and French Guiana.

Al-Zahrani said the carrier of the disease, the Aedes aegypti mosquito, usually bites early in the morning and at sunset, and that the virus is not transmitted between humans.

The ministry urged all travelers from the Kingdom to the affected areas to take individual protective measures to prevent mosquito bites, indicating that travellers who have immune disorders or chronic illnesses are advised to seek medical advice before traveling. Pregnant women who are planning to travel to affected areas should consult their health providers.

WHO Director General Margaret Chan called Zika an “extraordinary event” that needed a coordinated response.

“The disease linked to the Zika virus in Latin America poses a global public health emergency requiring a united response.”

In the United States, the first case of Zika was reported in Dallas County, Texas, late on Tuesday, said Reuters.

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