NATCHEZ — Two groups from Natchez are planning travel to Haiti soon, and are taking steps to protect themselves and their families from the Zika virus.

Zika, a mosquito-borne virus connected with birth defects, poses a public health risk globally, especially in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

All three Zika cases that have occurred in Mississippi this year have been connected with travel to Haiti, a Caribbean country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a travel alert recommending enhanced precautionary measures for those traveling to this region to avoid contracting Zika.

Local internal medicine doctor Lee England is a health officer for the southwest district of Mississippi State Department of Health.

England will depart for a medical mission trip to Port au Prince, the capital city of Haiti, in two weeks.

“The health department is asking everybody who comes back from an area like Haiti or Mexico, where Zika is present, to use mosquito repellant for three weeks after they get back,” England said.

This is to prevent local mosquitoes from contracting — and spreading — the virus.

“Suppose I got bit down there and I had Zika in my blood,” England said. “We’re trying to avoid getting a mosquito bite here, so a local mosquito gets infected so it can transfer to anybody else.”

As no vaccine exists for Zika, England said bite prevention is key to avoid its spread. Despite the risks, England said his trip is well worth it.

“It’s pretty much a free clinic,” he said. “People line up starting at 6 a.m. It’s hard work, but I keep going back.”

A small group from Parkway Baptist Church will also depart soon for Haiti, on a trip that will include medical care, food distribution and the building of a house for a family of eight.

In 2010, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 on the Richter scale struck a small town 16 miles west of Port au Prince, leaving many people homeless. A significant portion of Haitians is still without permanent shelter, Parkway’s Pastor the Rev. Jeff Brewer said.

Brewer said his group is traveling with a religious organization called “But God Ministries,” which will provide some help to prevent mosquito bites during the group’s travels.

“They say, wear long sleeve shirts, spray with a repellent with DEET, and we will have nets over our beds,” Brewer said.

No pregnant women will be coming along, Brewer said, but that doesn’t eliminate future risk for both male and female volunteers.

“For guys, it’s not as big of an issue as for women,” he said. “We’re trying to do all we can to be careful, but we’re not living in a bubble. We’re trying to do the best we can in following the advice of the people we’re traveling with. That’s about all you can do, besides not go.”

The trip is more than worth it, Brewer said. The group plans to travel to a community in the mountains, which the CDC reports lessens their risk of exposure.

“They have nothing and we have everything,” Brewer said.

According to the CDC, Zika virus was first discovered in 1947 and is named after the Zika Forest in Uganda. In 1952, the first human cases of Zika were detected and since then, outbreaks of Zika have been reported in tropical Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands.

In May 2015, the Pan American Health Organization issued an alert regarding a confirmed Zika virus infection in Brazil. On Feb. 1, the World Health Organization declared the virus to be a public health emergency.

Local transmission has been reported in many other countries and territories since then, and the CDC website reports Zika virus will likely continue to spread to new areas.