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HONOLULU (AP) — Crew members aboard the voyaging canoe Hokulea are taking precautions in light of Brazil's Zika virus outbreak.
KHON-TV reports (http://bit.ly/20gzhAT) the canoe arrived on an island about 200 miles off the country's northeast coast with plans to depart for Natal, Brazil within two days.
The Zika virus is possibly linked to the birth defect microcephaly.
Polynesian Voyaging Society medical officer Dr. Ben Tamura says future crews will be warned that pregnant females should probably not participate.
Tamura said along with mosquito repellant approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, the crew is using Centers for Disease control guidelines in treating land clothes with insecticide.
One woman will join the currently all-male crew traveling from Brazil to the Caribbean.
Medical experts have set guidelines for the crew throughout the trip.
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Information from: KHON-TV, http://khon.com
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