I am definitely freaking out about the Zika virus. I live in central Florida and as of today we have had at least 16 reported cases and some of them were very close to where I live. Also, I am traveling to Michigan in the next few weeks and am very concerned about the airport. I will be talking to my midwife to hopefully get some peace of mind about this virus and traveling.
event though i hate bug Spray it has become a part of my daily routine hope i get some piece of mind when I can ask more at my first app this Friday. I live in Hawaii and there was once case of an infant being born with Zika.
I thought it was more of a concern in the 2nd and 3rd trimester? In the first trimester it usually results in miscarriage but after that it results in birth defects.
Pretty scary either way!
Thats crazy that the insurances are writing that in! I mean thats the purpose of the insurance!
No, unfortunately their policy was very specific that you lose 50% of paid value of the trip. I haven't canceled yet, however, as I will be waiting until the first tri is over just to be sure.
I am worried about the 2nd and 3rd tri, too. I live in a Philly burb, and while it's pretty far north compared to where the outbreak currently is, the projected migration path of this mosquito is scary.
I have read an article, somewhat recently, that found to Off! Clip-on (it's like a clip-on fogger) to be excellent in repelling mosquitoes with a 0.3 meter radius (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160202174011.htm) we do a lot of gardening in the summer and the mosquitoes feast on me. I'll have to ask my RE/OB about it before I use it. Otherwise, I'll be staying in doors this summer
So we stopped preventing pregnancy for only about 2 or 3 weeks when I got scared of Zika and said we'd wait. Now, turns out those 2-3 weeks were all it took. My bro in law is getting married near Tampa in May... I'm nervous. I almost hope my Dr says no, and makes the choice for me.
Does anyone know what bug sprays are safe to use during pregnancy? I'm in Texas and have a feeling that I'll be using a lot of it over the next 7 months...
What is really interesting in Zika Virus originated in Uganda. In east Africa there has been no correlation between Zika and microcephaly. I live in Tanzania and so have been trying to keep up here but some studies are saying it's likely east Africans are immune to the virus, not that that would include me. But it does make me so curious about if it is even here or not.
“The level of risk of infection in Africa is much lower than that in the Americas because the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have been here for a very long time and cause other related viral infections including dengue fever in the African coastal regions, yellow fever and Nile fever,” said Dr Sang. “It is known that immunity to one virus can protect you from the other virus which could be a reason Africa has not had Zika virus outbreaks,” said Dr Sang.
*American lady living in Tanzania.
DH - Tanzanian Maasai
BFP #1 - MC Dec 2, 2015 (@ 9weeks) BFP #2 - Feb 2, 2016 --EDD 10/10/16 --Abigail- October 6, 2016. Heart warrior. October 2017- Began fostering to adopt T, (DOB:November 19, 2013)
This is all so scary. I'm wondering if I should cancel our trip to the gulf coast in May. I also have tickets to a music festival in Georgia that month. What do y'all think?
As for the trip insurance, I heard airlines are offering no-fee cancellations to pregnant women because of Zika. If your travel insurance doesn't cover it, maybe you can at least get out of paying your airfare?
Ladies. Are you living in the slums of Rio de Janiero?
There *is* some sort of link. But it's not what the news reports are making it sound like. Brazil recently changed their definition of microcephaly to include all babies with heads smaller than 32 cm- which can include neurologically normal infants (preemies for other reasons or just small babies). Out of the first 762 cases studied of actual microcephaly in Brazil, only 270 were tied to Zika OR some other infection. Most cases of microcephaly are due to other factors, like maternal drinking. That 4,700 number that gets thrown around? Remember how SARS made everyone terrified of a cold? When news gets out about a public health hazard, the number of reported (but unconfirmed) cases goes up.
Furthermore, out of those cases, 75% reported symptoms. The majority of people who get Zika are asymptomatic, so if there is a correlation, it's probably tied to having symptoms.
Zika has been endemic in sub-Saharan Africa for decades, and there are no indications of statistically unaccounted for increases in microcephaly.
Finally, Brazil has also been seeing an upsurge in dengue and chikungungya. Since these are also spread by mosquitos, it could be a confluence of dengue and Zika that make the difference. Dengue is a much more severe illness, one that you would know if you had, so there is less to worry about with the risk of asymptomatic spreading to pregnant women.
Wear mosquito repellent. Stay away from countries that don't have good mosquito prevention guidelines. I grew up in a part of the country where yellow fever and malaria are technically endemic. Did I *ever* see a case of yellow fever or malaria? No. The public health departments in the United States send these trucks around once a week and spray for mosquitos. You can bet your butts they will be doing it this year as well.
We have enough to worry about. Let's not borrow trouble because a country that leaves a large portion of its population in deplorable living conditions is having an upswing in birth defects....maybe.
Re: Zika Virus. Anyone Else?
I am worried about the 2nd and 3rd tri, too. I live in a Philly burb, and while it's pretty far north compared to where the outbreak currently is, the projected migration path of this mosquito is scary.
I have read an article, somewhat recently, that found to Off! Clip-on (it's like a clip-on fogger) to be excellent in repelling mosquitoes with a 0.3 meter radius (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160202174011.htm) we do a lot of gardening in the summer and the mosquitoes feast on me. I'll have to ask my RE/OB about it before I use it. Otherwise, I'll be staying in doors this summer
TTC #1 - Nov '14
DS born 10/18
BFP #2 - Feb 2, 2016 --EDD 10/10/16 --Abigail- October 6, 2016. Heart warrior.
October 2017- Began fostering to adopt T, (DOB:November 19, 2013)
As for the trip insurance, I heard airlines are offering no-fee cancellations to pregnant women because of Zika. If your travel insurance doesn't cover it, maybe you can at least get out of paying your airfare?
There *is* some sort of link. But it's not what the news reports are making it sound like. Brazil recently changed their definition of microcephaly to include all babies with heads smaller than 32 cm- which can include neurologically normal infants (preemies for other reasons or just small babies). Out of the first 762 cases studied of actual microcephaly in Brazil, only 270 were tied to Zika OR some other infection. Most cases of microcephaly are due to other factors, like maternal drinking. That 4,700 number that gets thrown around? Remember how SARS made everyone terrified of a cold? When news gets out about a public health hazard, the number of reported (but unconfirmed) cases goes up.
Furthermore, out of those cases, 75% reported symptoms. The majority of people who get Zika are asymptomatic, so if there is a correlation, it's probably tied to having symptoms.
Zika has been endemic in sub-Saharan Africa for decades, and there are no indications of statistically unaccounted for increases in microcephaly.
Finally, Brazil has also been seeing an upsurge in dengue and chikungungya. Since these are also spread by mosquitos, it could be a confluence of dengue and Zika that make the difference. Dengue is a much more severe illness, one that you would know if you had, so there is less to worry about with the risk of asymptomatic spreading to pregnant women.
sources: https://www.nature.com/news/zika-virus-brazil-s-surge-in-small-headed-babies-questioned-by-report-1.19259
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/health/what-is-zika-virus.html?_r=0
https://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/the_kids/2016/02/women_who_get_zika_might_not_have_fetuses_at_risk_for_microcephaly.html
Wear mosquito repellent. Stay away from countries that don't have good mosquito prevention guidelines. I grew up in a part of the country where yellow fever and malaria are technically endemic. Did I *ever* see a case of yellow fever or malaria? No. The public health departments in the United States send these trucks around once a week and spray for mosquitos. You can bet your butts they will be doing it this year as well.
We have enough to worry about. Let's not borrow trouble because a country that leaves a large portion of its population in deplorable living conditions is having an upswing in birth defects....maybe.