Gold-winning Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn has admitted that she won't be going to the Summer games in Rio, Brazil this year because she's scared of contracting the Zika virus.

The woman, who has not been identified, was infected overseas before traveling to Harris County, Texas, in order to give birth - though it is not known whether she came into the country illegally.

Imperial College London experts predict that the virus, which is rife in Brazil and other parts of South and Central America, will burn itself out in two to three years. However, it will strike again.

Has the threat of Zika ruined your summer travel plans? Don't fret! FEMAIL rounds up five unaffected destinations within the U.S. – and the perfect fashion picks to pack for each place.

A dozen staff are threatening to follow sports journalist Richard Conway (pictured) who is said to have told bosses he is bowing out of the event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Unlike most viruses - which cannot cross the protective placenta - a new study by the University of California suggests that Zika can. It is the first study to map out the two routes that the infection can take.

Until now, there has been no sign that mosquitoes carrying Zika have arrived in the continental US, but officials have warned that the possibility was looming.

These interactive maps show where people are being treated for the disease, how many patients are infected and which cities are most at risk.

The French 27-year-old was found to have traces of the virus in his semen after he came down with mild symptoms a few days after returning from Thailand.

There could be 90 million infections - at least - before the current epidemic fades, according to a US-UK research team. In Latin America alone, that could mean at least 1.6 million infected pregnant women.

Scientists at Yale University have calculated only three to 37 people will bring the mosquito-borne disease back to their countries - in a worst-case scenario.

Fears of a Zika virus outbreak in Florida have been raised after the first reports of the disease in the US. The virus was found in the southern counties of Miami-Dade and Broward.

Pregnant Deiseane Santiago, 22, originally from Sao Paulo in Brazil, came to Britain last November on a five-month visitor visa to spend time with 26-year-old fiance Simon Ellis (pictured).

The woman, from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, caught Zika on a trip to Suriname, which borders Brazil. The virus was found in foetal cells after she lost the baby.

Florida governor Rick Scott confirmed that all four of the state's mystery Zika cases almost certainly came from local mosquito bites. They mark the first outbreak of the infection in mainland America.

Fifty-three cases of the Zika virus have now been reported in Britain, health officials have revealed. It is thought that all of those affected by the virus had recently travelled back from abroad.

Public Health England has advised pregnant women to scrap non-essential trips to Florida, United States, after the country's first cases of the Zika virus not linked to travel have been discovered.

The Zika virus could soon be spreading to  Louisiana and Texas, warned a tropical medical expert, after four patients in Florida have tested positive for the virus.

Public Health England advised pregnant tourists to cancel non-essential travel to Florida and said men and women should abstain from sex without a condom while they are on holiday.

The 'killer' gene, that could dramatically alter the course of the Zika virus in America, shortens the life of the insects' young and should make the population crash, halting the spread of the disease.

American goalkeeper Hope Solo was heavily booed during Team USA's opening soccer match in the Rio Olympics.

Ryan Seacrest arrived in Rio de Janeiro just days ago as he is set to host Friday's Olympic opening ceremony.

The news means 13 babies have now been born with the condition in the United States since the Zika epidemic began last year.

Herbalists and witch doctors in Rio de Janeiro say star athletes who skipped this year's Olympic Games shouldn't have worried about contracting Zika while in Brazil.

The patient, who has not been identified, was tested as one of the 26 close contacts around the two original cases. It means there are now 16 local transmissions of Zika in Miami, Florida.

It is not yet clear whether they Palm Beach County resident contracted the infection from Palm Beach mosquitoes or from insects during a recent trip to Miami, Florida, where there is a Zika outbreak.

As insecticide rained down on a popular district in Miami, state health officials began to investigate Palm Beach County's first case of non-travel related Zika, Gov Rick Scott's office announced Monday.

Fearing the worst during an outbreak of Zika virus, pregnant Emily was banned from travelling to the US with the rest of the family as Peter went abroad with Princess and Junior.

The study by the University of Southern California is the most significant step towards understanding the infection amid widespread confusion about how it inflicts life-threatening conditions in babies.

The star took to Twitter on Saturday after many were put off by a Snapchat story she shared earlier in which her mom Dianna Hart joked, 'Everybody down in Rio gonna get the Zika virus!'

European governments have warned their citizens about gun violence after a mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub (pictured), while advice has also been issued for LGBT travellers.

Taekwondo star Jade, 23, today launches her bid to defend the Gold medal she won at London 2012, supported by her family including grandfather Martin Foulkes.

My family and I were due to fly to Florida on the 27th August but following medical advice we decided we shouldn't go because I'm pregnant. Now Virgin is refusing to refund us.

The billboards - paid for by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and erected in and around Fort Lauderdale - showed a condom with the words 'Prevents Zika transmission' inside it.

The mosquito-borne infection arrived in the US last month, but has so far been restricted to a few blocks in Wynwood, a neighborhood of Miami-Dade County.

A patient has been diagnosed with Zika in Pinellas County. The area just outside Tampa is 265 miles away from Miami on the other side of the peninsula from the original outbreak zone.

So far 483 people in New York City have been diagnosed with Zika, and 49 of those were pregnant at the time of their diagnosis.

The move, ordered by the Food and Drug Administration on Friday, is a major expansion in a bid intended to protect the nation's blood supply from the mosquito-borne virus.

The discovery by Florida State University has been hailed as a medical breakthrough as federal regulators race to find treatment for the infection, which is spreading through the US.

Until now, scientists have tentatively suggested that there may be a link between the virus and Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune condition when the body attacks itself after an infection.

The sudden onslaught of floods and torrential rain brought by Matthew over the weekend to Florida's east coast has destroyed areas of contained water where the species which carry the disease thrives.

The CDC had previously urged testing for pregnant women who had been in one of the county's Zika 'hot zones.' On Wednesday, it extended the advice to the entire county.

Two British tourists have contracted the Zika virus after travelling to Florida, US, and pregnant women have been advised to cancel all 'non-essential' travel to the American state.

Experts at Washington University School of Medicine in Missouri warn that if the 'dramatic' findings, in mice, apply to humans it could lead to an epidemic of infertility caused by the disease.

Two weeks ago, two British tourists in Florida were reported to have contracted Zika. The news came as the richest man in the world announced the details of a major project to tackle the problem.

The mosquito-borne virus sparked global panic this year after millions were infected, causing scores of babies to be born with birth defects such as microcephaly.

The state reported its first case of Zika likely transmitted by a mosquito on Monday after lab results confirmed their suspicions. The patient is a woman near the Mexico border.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have found that a malaria drug blocks Zika from infecting the fetus. It is the first sign of a drug that could prevent Zika birth defects.

With Australian Survivor set to return on Sunday, host Jonathan LaPaglia revealed he thought he had contracted the Zika virus while filming the reality show

University of Southern California researchers found that the Zika virus works by suppressing a pregnant woman's immune system, enabling the virus to spread and harm an unborn baby.