The zika virus is extremely devastating to any residents/tourists to the affected areas. Has this impacted your travel plans for the near future? Fortunately, I am a grandmother and it will not impact me personally, but I can't help but have extreme empathy for those affected. How has this CDC travel warning impacted you?
Zika Virus
- Thread starter pstlb
- Start date
I was in Buenos Aires this weekend and found a mosquito in my room, killed it but his buddy came back for revenge in the evening. We certainly discussed Zika at the time, luckily for us I am a mozzie magnet so neither the wife or baby was bitten. It's a worry for sure.
Piccadilly
Level 2 Member
The interesting thing with zika is that once you get it, you will be immune thereafter. It is a extremely mild virus, that often can go unnoticed. It is not a new virus either. Some people even think the microcephaly May not even be related to zika at all. They just started enforcing the dtap immunization on pregnant women recently there. They also have been spraying pesticides to try to deal with the mosquitoes. And, they also released gmo mosquitoes last year into the wild. Too many coincidences all at once and zika is just a easy thing to blame imo.
I'm headed to Barbados Friday and am not worried. I read a useful NPR piece about testing insect repellants:
So I'll repel up. Besides that, I'm not worried. If I do get bit, I get bit, I could get a thousand other crazy things (food poisoning? check) whenever I travel. You could get Zika here in the US. It's all about taking necessary and useful precautions.
Code:
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/01/30/464740275/whats-the-best-way-to-keep-mosquitoes-from-biting
Hplx32
New Member
Not to really worry about Zika, unless you are thinking of becoming pregnant or have a lower immune resistance. Otherwise, like Unifer said, there's a lot of other things that could occur while traveling...then again, I guess there are a lot of things that could occur while sitting around at home...
Piccadilly
Level 2 Member
From what I have read and seen, the virus is only a issue for women who are in the first half of their pregnancy. So, for anyone else, the systems (if they get any) are not any worse than a cold. This whole thing is just being blown out of proportion.
We were going to do our yearly couples trip to Costa Rica. Had to reconsider b/c of this virus. A few in the group thought we were over-reacting. Personally I didn't want to deal with the chances of getting sick, the common side effects. Nothing like coming off vacation to just have to sit at home sick for a couple of days. Even if that that overly major. I think I read it can have flu-like symptoms.
MickiSue
Level 2 Member
You can get sick anywhere, at any time. Cancelling a vacation on the off chance of contracting a very minor (if you're not in the first trimester) virus seems a little over cautious.
I went TO Jamaica in January with pneumonia. I was more tired than I wanted to be, and became short of breath from swimming. But the antibiotics I'd started a few days earlier had knocked down the worst of the symptoms, and I wouldn't have missed the beauty and the pure cultural interest for the world.
I went TO Jamaica in January with pneumonia. I was more tired than I wanted to be, and became short of breath from swimming. But the antibiotics I'd started a few days earlier had knocked down the worst of the symptoms, and I wouldn't have missed the beauty and the pure cultural interest for the world.
The same mosquitoes that could carry Zika in Barbados (and likely will be transmitting it here in South Texas by the end of this summer) also carry Dengue and Chikungunya, both of which are a lot more miserable than Zika in terms of symptoms for non-pregnant folks. Feeding mosquitoes in the tropics is never a good idea. Enjoy Barbados!
Ben Benton
Level 2 Member
I wouldn't worry too much about it unless you are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant in the near future. Like the other posters said, it can be spread sexually. I think the amount of media got was due to birth defects attributed to the virus. The media figured they had something sufficiently scary to lead with and they did.
Cancelling a trip is not the same as choosing not to plan a trip. When you still have the option, no harm in just rethinking where you want to go.
What's having it be spread sexually have to do with anything if your only sexual partner is your spouse/significant other? If you aren't going to said place, neither would he/she.
Suzie
Level 2 Member
Going ahead with trips to Peru (we are going into the Iquitos Amazon area) and to Belize. Past the childbearing years, so Zika is not a concern. We did get yellow fever vaccines and taking malaria meds with us. I am a mosquito magnet, so I am extra cautious. I would probably be rethinking if I was considering getting pregnant.
I agree with @KennyBSAT's reminder about Dengue and Chikungunya with the same mosquitos. I've just returned from several months of malaria meds from travel in Africa and Asia. I was surprised that some weren't even doing that on my trip! I think it is super important to know the risks and take precautions as necessary. Make sure to get a vaccination certificate @Suzie and put it in your passport. Some people were not allowed into Ghana on my ship because they didn't have one. It lasts ten years and is good to have if you do further travel in the future. I hope they learn more about Zika. Right now there are a lot of things being circulated about it, and all may not end up to be true. Until anything is confirmed, I would understand a woman of child bearing age postponing travel to destinations that are impacted. I would also understand someone in that situation going there too.
Suzie
Level 2 Member
Thank you for the reminder. We have the yellow cards issued by the World Health Organization, I'm assuming that is what you mean or is there another certificate that we need? We get our travel vaccines and meds at the military base since my husband is retired military and that is what they issue.
Well I was going with a group of adult couples in our 30s. While none of us are trying to become pregnant right now, it could happen. Might as well not even chance it. Matter of fact, it's actually a running joke because we believe one of the couples "accidentally" got pregnant on our very first couples trip a few years back.
Ben Benton
Level 2 Member
CDancer, I mentioned that because it would be my luck not to get bit by a single mosquito and then catch the virus from my wife.
If you/your partner isn't planning to get pregnant in the next 6 months, then no worries. CDC recommends a waiting period of 8 weeks for women and 6 months for the male partner (since the virus lives longer in the testes + safety margin) after possible exposure to zika before getting pregnant.
haserfauld
Level 2 Member
You let your wife have a Brazilian BF?
On topic: I'm actually debating altering our next destination. Nothing has been booked, but we were debating Caribbean / Costa Rica, but we may give Italy a look instead. Primarily because we're in our late 20s, married for a few years, and things may happen.
Ttitle
Level 2 Member
SUPER on topic: I contracted leishmaniasis in Costa Rica, since we are on the subject. My first time going anywhere exotic and I get a tropical disease that about did me in. So, if I get to vote for you, I vote not Costa Rica
PS --Don't google that if you are faint of heart.
haserfauld
Level 2 Member
Yikes. I'm also apparently super tasty to mosquitoes, so that's unnerving. When my wife and I were in Hawaii for 2 weeks, I constantly had 8-12 bites at any given time. She got 1 the entire trip. Weird how that works.SUPER on topic: I contracted leishmaniasis in Costa Rica, since we are on the subject. My first time going anywhere exotic and I get a tropical disease that about did me in. So, if I get to vote for you, I vote not Costa Rica
Dante
New Member
Of course! and she's also my daughter's godmother.
Clearly BF is best friend not boyfriend @haserfauld!
For those of you following this thread, I was just in Curaçao and it is a Zika area. I didn't see many mosquitoes and I was not bitten as I took precautions. I did check the CDC website and found this interesting. "Even if they do not feel sick, travelers returning to the United States from an area with Zika should take steps to prevent mosquito bites for 3 weeks so that they do not spread Zika to uninfected mosquitos." I have seen predictions that this will reach the US by summer. Same issue is happening right now with yellow fever as there is an epidemic in Angola which has lots of Chinese workers and cases are beginning to show up in China where people generally are not vaccinated for this disease. Global travel and mosquitoes are not a good mix.