Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been in Fiji for several days now, and are preparing to head to Tonga as their 16-day Royal Tour continues.
The couple’s Fijian leg of the tour has raised many concerns over the Zika virus, which has been detected in both countries.
But, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has remained steadfast in their tour schedule, announcing that they sought medical advice about the virus, which can cause serious birth defects, including microcephaly, and would not be making any changes to their travel plans.
The pregnant royal has been taking several precautions upon arriving in the South Pacific.
Adhering to general recommendations by medical professionals, Meghan arrived at the airport in a long-sleeved white dress after wearing several sleeveless dresses in Sydney.
Professor James G. Logan, Head of the Department of Disease Control at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, tells PEOPLE: “I’m sure that they will have sought travel health advice in terms of protective methods in terms of mosquito bites. There is a lot you can do to minimize risks.”
“Wearing long sleeves and baggy clothes will help,” he adds. “Mosquitos can even bite through jeans so if the clothing is loose it’s much harder for the mosquito to bite. Wearing light-colored clothing can help as these mosquitos are often attracted to dark clothing. It also helps you spot them, if you see a dark mosquito on a light piece of clothing.
“Generally the risk is low but, there is still a risk and you need to weigh up how to protect yourself and make sure you are fully informed.”
Logan adds that pregnant women travelling in the South Pacific should wear repellent.
“The advice would be to wear a repellent which contains an active ingredient and wear that repellent all day and all evening,” Logan says.
“You have to put the repellent on like a hand cream. You have to really rub it in. If you squirt it on like a perfume, that won’t do anything because the mosquito will find a bit that’s not covered. A spray or a lotion is fine but really rub it in and reapply it often. There are four active ingredients, one of the main ones is DEET and it’s safe to use that during pregnancy.”
Meghan also avoided visiting the rainforest alongside Harry.
