Brazilian New Yorkers Not Alarmed as They Follow Zika

You might think a travel agent focused on a country where Zika is spreading might be a little bit concerned about the outbreak impacting his business. But if João de Matos, owner of Brazilian Vacation Center, is especially worried, he isn't letting on.

"Unfortunately, in these days, there's always something going on someplace in the world," he said on Thursday, as the World Health Organization warned the mosquito-borne virus could infect as many as four million people by the end of the year.

De Matos' agency is on a two-block stretch of West 46th Street in Manhattan known as Little Brazil. He said he's had one pregnant woman postpone a trip, but otherwise business is consistent with what he'd expect for this time of year — and inquiries for the coming summer Olympics in Rio are robust, too.

"If you go to a nice place, like Rio, Ipanema, Copacabana and stay in a nice hotel, you're not gonna get mosquitoes," he said.

New York City health officials say three New Yorkers — including a pregnant woman — have contracted the Zika virus, after traveling to regions affected by the outbreak.

Most people do not need to be hospitalized from the disease. But officials are studying whether some severe birth defects can be linked to an infection during pregnancy.

The disease is not believed to spread via human contact and the mosquitoes believed to carry it are not found in New York.

Zika has been found in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Health officials declined to say from where the infected New Yorkers had traveled.

"I would definitely consider NOT going to Brazil soon," said Marcella Fereria, owner of Buzios Boutique, a Brazilian specialty shop. "Not until this has been taken care of — no way."

Fereria has family in Bahia, in the northeastern part of the country. Zika virus isn't just a news story for her. Several family members and friends have gotten Zika, including an uncle and a cousin who are fighting it off now.

"They have severe body pain, muscle pain," she said. "They're at home resting and taking the medicines."

There are a lot worse bugs you can catch, especially in the tropics. Malaria and dengue fever both have higher hospitalization and fatality rates. But the possibility that Zika could cause babies microcephaly — an abnormally small head — gives Fereria pause.

"As a woman, I'm always concerned about pregnancy," she said.

Geraldo Miranda, a waiter at nearby Emporium Brazil, isn't concerned — and he said it's not because he's a man. He's been talking on the phone to his sisters in the region near Sao Paulo, and they didn't mention the illness at all.

"I'm going to Brazil tomorrow, and it's going to be normal life for me," he said. "I've heard a lot about Zika and mosquito bites. I'm not afraid, and I don't think people have to be scared."

Miranda said the news media is blowing things out of proportion with its coverage of Zika. And he's pretty confident — even if others aren't — in the ability of local and federal health authorities to contain the virus with better mosquito control. But while he's mostly inclined to shrug it off, Miranda still hopes someone comes up with a vaccine or a cure for Zika soon, so it doesn't endanger anyone. 

— with reporting by the Associated Press