How concerned are you about Zika?

joyfuljenny

Just wondering what others are thinking. I've done some reading online and definitely plan to ask my OB at my first appt on Aug 4th, but I'm wondering if we should cancel our trip to Orlando, FL in September.

I'm inclined to err on the side of caution and change our plans. One article I read listed the top 10 U.S. cities with potential for mosquito-transmitted Zika virus, based on risk factors, and Orlando was 2nd only behind Miami. And there was information released a few days ago that said they may have detected the first case of mosquito-transmitted Zika in the U.S., and it was in Miami. 

Anyone live in the southern cities/areas where the concern for Zika is higher? What advice or info have you gotten from your doctor? 

smevan11

I am because my husband travels (he's a pilot). I'm not so concerned now because he's on a list to avoid Zika affected countries and we can use condoms, but I am concerned of the potential issue from TTC. He wears bug spray and says he hasn't been bitten, but the concern will linger until we know for sure. I am not traveling to the south while pregnant. My ILs are in Florida and know I won't be visiting for the next 9 months.

onefootinthebayou

I am very concerned but I don't have a great handle on the potential risks on US infections. 

ngcsugirl1112

I'm concerned...we live in Georgia and mosquitos LOVE my husband...my doctor made sure
to tell us not to travel to any Zika infected countries. I was planning to visit a girlfriend in Orlando for her birthday in September....I should ask him about that during our next visit. 

chrlyr

I'm concerned enough to put off a planned trip to FL late this fall. I'm glad I live in a northern state, that's for sure. 

ihateusernames*

I'm pretty sure that I heard it was pesticides causing the microcephaley? 
I may be wrong, but I did read it from a pretty trust worthy source

joyfuljenny

@ihateusernames* Oh, that's interesting. The CDC is claiming a proven link between Zika virus and microcephaley, but I haven't read the studies. 

ihateusernames*

@joyfuljenny yeah pretty confusing because there's a lot of conflicting info out there. I do think it's odd that Zika has been around and documented for decades but is only causing microcephaley now, or in the last two years... Like what changed?

veeveemama59

I'm following this...we also have a trip to Orlando planned for November. My sister and I are both pregnant right now (EDD are 43 days apart) and DH is adamant that we reschedule. I would hate for DS to miss out...but seriously, the risks outweigh everything else for me.

ETA: @joyfuljenny could you share the link to that top 10 cities article?

Scarlett830

We planned a trip to Disney World for the end of October. I'm concerned about Zika, but until I hear definitive proof of virus transmitting mosquitos in Florida or my OB warns against it, we still plan on going.

clarereedy

We are going to Aruba in two weeks. We contacted our timeshare resort and also spoke with our doctors. I will wear bug spray. The hotel has been certified as "mosquito free" so I won't leave the resort. But being "trapped" at the pool won't be so bad.

ladyoriza

I'm in Georgia. I'm not too concerned. I'll check with my ob Thursday just to make sure I'm not under reacting. 

PattersRN

I'm not too worried about it.  I actually went to Orlando the day after my previous BFP.  I just took bug spray with me, but never saw any mosquitos, so didn't need it.  At that time there had also been no confirmed cases of Zika being transmitted person to person via mosquito in the US (I think right now though there's a woman in FL that got it here and they don't know how).  I also think it's more of a concern in very south FL and not as much of central.  

PattersRN

Regarding the pesticide - microcephaly link (dispelled in this list): https://www.who.int/emergencies/zika-virus/articles/rumours/en/

catrb89

I was a little concerned, mostly because the skeeters love me. I've been dousing myself in mosquito spray and we don't have any travel plans to FL or the Caribbean anytime soon. I'm a little more worried that one of the staff members at an OBGYN I was considering definitely thought Portugal was in South America. Thankfully we're going elsewhere! 

kjd291

I'm scared.... And grateful I live way up here in Maine. Hopefully they can get some answers soon and take away all the fear!

joyfuljenny

@theabels Here's the link with the supposed top 10 U.S. cities for Zika risk: https://wgntv.com/2016/06/20/as-zika-spreads-in-puerto-rico-these-10-u-s-cities-could-be-next/  I didn't find a list like this in other sources, so I'm not sure how accurate it really is. It was published about a month ago. 

This is the article about the first possible (not yet confirmed) mosquito-transmitted case in the U.S.: https://nypost.com/2016/07/21/this-woman-might-be-the-first-in-the-us-to-get-zika-by-a-mosquito/

datalover13

I'm a little concerned, but mostly thinking by the time it reaches KS mosquito season should hopefully be over. Hopefully. 

kiyamurph

@ihateusernames*, I do find it very fishy for that very reason.  I've read that Zika has been around for about 60 years or so, so it makes me wonder what's really going on. We actually have an 8 day family Caribbean cruise coming up in November that we paid for months ago. It leaves from Miami. I just plan to douse myself in bug spray and be smart about how much time I spend outside. 

ihateusernames*

Yeah, it's tricky. I don't like using bug spray while pregnant either lol. Good thing I live in Canada

kiki75

My theories on why it seems like Zika wasn't a problem before: 
1. The virus wasn't the same then and it has mutated enough to change its effects on developing babies.
2. Maybe it hadn't spread to an area with high enough population density to spread this well.
3. The socioeconomic status of those affected and the fact that it was affecting people in developing countries. That would mean a reduction in access to prenatal care, they were less likely to do tests/research on infants born with microcephaly there, and frankly that it wasn't so much on the radar of developed countries until there was a chance it could affect their populations. 

nursemama-2

I live in Canada, so I'm not concerned but we declined a trip to Mexico in November because of it.

justxlaugh

We have a huge family trip to Disney in November that we already paid for and a trip to Atlanta in September. I also am pretty sure I get a new mosquito bite daily...so yeah, I'm pretty nervous about it. Hopefully mosquito season isn't that bad in November....

Minger86

We are leaving for Bermuda tomorrow, and when I found out I was pregnant last week, this was the first thing that came to mind. I've done some Googling and everything suggests that Zika doesn't exist in Bermuda (yet). So, I'm trying not to worry / let it ruin my vacation... but, I'm a worrier.

BelcherEars

I live in the South and mosquito season is really year round here. It's a much lower activity level in the winter months, but they are still here. It has to be consistently below 50 degrees for mosquitoes to hibernate, and in my state, we really only have one month that comes close to that. So, I'm concerned, but I'm trying to just watch how things progress. Ultimately there is no escaping it for me if we have an outbreak in the South. I also have a trip to Florida in December. I plan to go and simply wear some natural bug spray. It wouldn't be any different for me than staying at home. 

MixedBerries88

I live in Central FL so I don't really have much choice but to live with this shit. I'm trying to make good, common sense choices. Long sleeves and pants if I go out in the evening, a spritz of bug spray, avoiding standing water, etc. I'm not going to lie, I do worry about Zika, but I've got a long ass list other other worries that are much more pressing to me at this point in my pregnancy.

mrsyimster

pretty concerned. we live in texas. its like mosquito heaven. Dr told us that both him and I need to avoid the outside as much as possible. so long bbq.... and to get a company to spray our yard for mosquitos.... which just reminded me. I gotta find a company.

AverageAsh

My H travels to third world countries for work, many of which have had or currently have had zika outbreaks. We are really careful upon re-entry. I am disappointed that this will limit my ability to go with him this pregnancy.

UnicornsPlease

It's been on my mind, for sure. I live in the midatlantic, so not a major concern at this moment in time, but I likely won't be visiting my grandparents in Florida for the next 8 months. My husband and I have a bunch of airline miles that we want to use for a pre-baby trip somewhere...but I think we've restricted ourselves to Seattle or Vancouver instead of the Caribbean (where we probably would have gone if I wasn't expecting). Kudos to you ladies in the south for staying so levelheaded--I'm a nut and would probably go WAY overboard if I was farther south.

mossn83

I'm in Hawaii and my doctor is not concerned and we have had a few cases on the islands but all from people that traveled. Also he said once infected one time anytime in the past you are then immune to it. So if you live in a high mosquito area you may have already been infected and most people have no symptoms. Also per the dr the risk of microcephaly is only in the first trimester. 

ShaunaT25

Well I wasn't concerned.... until now lol. 
My sister and I are going to NYC in September, which I thought would be far enough north to not have this issue.... but there it is sitting at number 5 on that list. 

Bok Bagok

I live in Tampa, FL and we have lots and lots of mosquitos, but we also have some of the best mosquitos control programs/systems in place. So, of course I have concerns, but I'm pretty sure my county and surrounding counties are doing everything they can to 1. Keep the mosquitos under the best control they can, 2. Are actively testing the mosquito population (they put out traps) and testing them for Zika. So all I can do is try not to go out in my yard when the biters are out and wear my bug spray. 

Saracp78

So I don't mean to be dense but some people with the ZIKA virus show no signs... Can you just ask your OB to be tested? My DH travels for work and I hadn't really thought about it but...

gracie4400

I'm not worried yet. If it is confirmed that someone has contacted the virus from a bite in the US, then I'll start getting concerned.

mossn83

It only has a very short testing window and shows up as the same antibodies as yellow fever so if you have received the immunization for yellow fever there is no way to know. 

Cooks811

I was just reading the CDC website, and ALL of the reported cases within the US are travel related. New York has actually seen the most cases. It is only spread from person to person by sexual contact. I would not restrict your travel to Florida (or the south in general) as this point as there is no real threat! Disclaimer: I live in FL

Cooks811

Ok, so after more research, I realized there have been 2 cases in south Florida that have not been found to be travel related or sexually transmitted. Although, they are still being investigated. This JUST happened last week so pretty breaking news! I still would not avoid the southern us, but I can understand anyone who is having second thoughts. 

BelcherEars

ashpatel30 said:

I was just reading the CDC website, and ALL of the reported cases within the US are travel related. New York has actually seen the most cases. It is only spread from person to person by sexual contact. I would not restrict your travel to Florida (or the south in general) as this point as there is no real threat! Disclaimer: I live in FL 

ashpatel30 said:

Ok, so after more research, I realized there have been 2 cases in south Florida that have not been found to be travel related or sexually transmitted. Although, they are still being investigated. This JUST happened last week so pretty breaking news! I still would not avoid the southern us, but I can understand anyone who is having second thoughts. 

This. Basically right now the only confirmed cases have been travel related. There are two in FL that they are investigating but have not (to my knowledge) come out and confirmed it was locally acquired. Even then, if there are minimal reports of locally acquired cases, I am not overly concerned because my risk of infection is still low. But if there starts to be a high number of those cases, then (for me) there is certainly cause for concern because the risk of infection has greatly increased.

I'm trying to keep things in perspective. Every year, I am at a much greater risk for being infected with some other mosquito or tick transmitted disease than Zika. And unless there is a large outbreak of Zika, that probably won't change. But I'm not freaking out of potentially contracting Lyme Disease or West Nile. So for now, I'm just going to continue life as usual and hope that the Zika threat remains minimal. 

kiyamurph

UnicornsPlease said:

It's been on my mind, for sure. I live in the midatlantic, so not a major concern at this moment in time, but I likely won't be visiting my grandparents in Florida for the next 8 months. My husband and I have a bunch of airline miles that we want to use for a pre-baby trip somewhere...but I think we've restricted ourselves to Seattle or Vancouver instead of the Caribbean (where we probably would have gone if I wasn't expecting). Kudos to you ladies in the south for staying so levelheaded--I'm a nut and would probably go WAY overboard if I was farther south.

I know this is off topic, but just wanted to say that I live in WA and both Seattle and Vancouver are beautiful places to visit! We actually honeymooned in Vancouver and I can't begin to tell you how gorgeous it is. It's very expensive though!

CanadianintheSouth

kiyamurph said:

UnicornsPlease said:

It's been on my mind, for sure. I live in the midatlantic, so not a major concern at this moment in time, but I likely won't be visiting my grandparents in Florida for the next 8 months. My husband and I have a bunch of airline miles that we want to use for a pre-baby trip somewhere...but I think we've restricted ourselves to Seattle or Vancouver instead of the Caribbean (where we probably would have gone if I wasn't expecting). Kudos to you ladies in the south for staying so levelheaded--I'm a nut and would probably go WAY overboard if I was farther south.

I know this is off topic, but just wanted to say that I live in WA and both Seattle and Vancouver are beautiful places to visit! We actually honeymooned in Vancouver and I can't begin to tell you how gorgeous it is. It's very expensive though!

I was just in Vancouver in May and loved it! I was last there when I was little and don't remember much, so I'm glad I was able to spend a week there with my family! We also took the ferry to Victoria, another great city to check out. 

ihateusernames*

Awww I love Vancouver. I used to live just on the outskirts of the city but now with a family we are about an hour and a half away. Still a nice day trip