Travel revenues might bear the brunt of the deadly Zika virus in the American subcontinents, fear airline companies.

According to Tony Tyler, the Director and CEO of the International Air Transport Association at an event in New York, “a number of members have expressed concern that they may already be seeing some effect on travel, particularly in the Americas,” as reported by Reuters.

He further stated that a clear idea of the financial loss would be available when the airline companies “publish (traffic) numbers for January.”

The Caribbean islands already face a monetary crunch due to their struggling economy. Adding to that, the virus-scare is believed to propel a further dip in the income of airlines due to the decreased number of passengers.

The prices of most of the airlines have been slashed, but there is a slim chance for tourist-inflow, claims the report. Business conferences have also been cancelled in Puerto Rico. Mexico also faces a loss of $744 million according to the World bank, said Forbes.

The Zika Virus is a deadly virus that has taken the region by storm. There are close to 28 countries in the Americas that are fighting against the disease. There are fourteen cases of the virus in the US that have been transmitted sexually, raising the toll to 82. Also, in South America, the virus is causing heavy damage. In Cuba, 9,000 army personnel were arranged to go to each house in the country and spray mosquito repellents to curb the vector.

The Zika virus is spread by the Aedes mosquito that is also notorious for causing dengue. It causes fever, conjunctivitis and muscle pain. The advanced stage is an auto-immune disorder called Microcephaly. The symptoms of microcephaly include a weakened brain and body malformations in new-born infants. Scientists are still testing the relation between the vector and microcephaly.