zika virus? seriously scared/

runner76

They are saying it is going to spread rapidly to the US.. I am going to florida next month.,. this is freaking me out. anyone else concerned? I was worried about ebola last year and thankfully that didn't take place.. but this seems to be pretty certain to come here.

Bigboobsmcgee

I think you need to have a glass of wine and relax.

SunLover26

Hi runner76.  I just bought plane tickets last week to travel to Florida in April.  I am now looking into changing destinations.  A vacation should be fun and relaxing and I'm not sure I would be able to do either with this serious virus spreading.  We haven't made any decisions yet...and still have time, but it doesn't seem wort the risk.  Continue reading the news and talk to your doctor.    Good luck!  You are not alone!

runner76

I read a little more on CDC site and they are thinking if it does come to US that it will contain itself in southern states.. I hope that is true. and I am hoping it doesn't arrive for awhile.. this is all stressful enough. just being able to conceive is but now a disease that primarily affects pregnant women.. so unfair.

MrsFL2015

I live in Florida and I haven't heard of any warnings about not getting pregnant on the news.   Plus, if you're traveling in February, then chances are you will not encounter many mosquitoes.  The daytime highs are only in the mid-lower 70's (and somedays are in the 60's) with little humidity.  The nighttme lows can range anywhere from the 40s-60s.  That not the preferred weather for mosquitoes.

Also, if Zika reaches Florida, then it can probably reach any of the U.S. states.  I grew up in the Northern states and mosquitoes are just as common in the summer up there as in Florida.   No reason to change plans unless a warning has been issued. 

PolarBear517

there are no known cases of active transmission in Florida thus far. Like others said, in February, you may be at a decreased risk already. Also- since you're posting in "babies on the brain" and not first tri- I assume you're still TTC? The virus seems to clear your blood within a week (often just a couple days). So even if you were to be infected, as long as you weren't pregnant, you shouldn't be at risk of passing the virus to a baby conceived soon after. 

The mosquito responsible for the Zika outbreaks is Aedes Aegypti, which is found in Florida and only in southern states. But there is a possibility that Aedes Albopictus can also act as a vector, in which case the population spans a much greater chunk of the U.S. These are also the mosquitos responsible for dengue fever and chikungunya. While we do have the mosquito populations in th U.S., we don't tend to see any of this diseases take hold here as strongly as they do in other countries, largely due to the fact that most residences use A/C and people spend lots of time indoors. I do think we will see cases of active transmission in the U.S. but if I factor in our history I don't believe they'll reach pandemic levels. 

Its important to note that we cant quantify the risk to pregnant women just yet, and even though it seems to be the primary factor, we don't even have sure scientific evidence that Brazil's microcephaly cases are caused by Zika. 

Sorry I rambled- I'm a student of epidemiology and find this kind of thing very interesting- even more so since I am also planning on TTC soon. My husband and I have a trip planned to Maui in what would be our first month of trying. I'm going to continue monitoring for cases of active transmission and if there are some I may push back TTC by a month just in case. In your situation with no cases of active transmission I wouldn't worry

SaphireSweetie88

runner76 said:

They are saying it is going to spread rapidly to the US.. I am going to florida next month.,. this is freaking me out. anyone else concerned? I was worried about ebola last year and thankfully that didn't take place.. but this seems to be pretty certain to come here.

I would relax and not worry about it until it becomes something to worry about. Have fun in FL

BluesGal10

Just to put your mind at ease: https://www.cdc.gov/zika/symptoms/index.html

Symptoms

• About 1 in 5 people infected with Zika virus become ill (i.e., develop Zika).
• The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Other common symptoms include muscle pain and headache. The incubation period (the time from exposure to symptoms) for Zika virus disease is not known, but is likely to be a few days to a week.
• The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week.
• People usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika.
• Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for about a week but it can be found longer in some people.

The treatment is the same as with the common cold - rest, push fluids, take tylenol for muscle soreness or fever. 

Go to Florida and have fun!

cabu14

schuette2 said:

Just to put your mind at ease: https://www.cdc.gov/zika/symptoms/index.html

Symptoms

• About 1 in 5 people infected with Zika virus become ill (i.e., develop Zika).
• The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Other common symptoms include muscle pain and headache. The incubation period (the time from exposure to symptoms) for Zika virus disease is not known, but is likely to be a few days to a week.
• The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week.
• People usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika.
• Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for about a week but it can be found longer in some people.

The treatment is the same as with the common cold - rest, push fluids, take tylenol for muscle soreness or fever. 

Go to Florida and have fun!

I think your missing the major birth defects in unborn children if a pregnant person is bitten.

cabu14

I am nervous about this too.  I am TTC and trying not to get too worked up about it as I'm sure there are similar things that I could get that I am unaware of and continue just fine.  Like others have said watch for alerts where you are traveling.. Wear bug spray!

KarliQ88

I live north so im not too concerned right now..until i hear about it making its way up but it did make us cancel our trip to South America. So i understand you fear. I wouldn't cancel a trip to FL though. Just keep an eye out on the news

BluesGal10

I didn't see that listed on the CDC site.