Zika

[Wakey]

With the news that Zika is being locally transmitted around Miami Dade and Public Health England advising those pregnant or might become pregnant not to travel to Florida, what are you thinking if you are in the risk group? I know Disney etc has very good mosquito control, but would you take the risk. This is just the start and it could get quite bad apparently.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I'm thankfully out of the risk group (my DS is 15, and no plans for more) but I imagine I'd be a wreck if I were pregnant or hoping to get pregnant right now. There was enough to worry about back when I was!

I have relatives who live in Florida (some full time and some part of the year) but none planning kids right now that I know of.

 

[disneyholic family]

yes, i just saw this posted on the UK trip planning board...
it definitely could affect our big family trip to WDW next summer....
while i'm not going to be pregnant any time soon, my daughter and daughter in law definitely fall into this group....

by the way, does anyone know how it affects toddlers? or is it just a mild disease for everyone but fetuses?
we'll have several toddlers with us....

here's an article about the UK warning that was just issued

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...to-delay-florida-travel-over-zika-virus-fears

..

 

[yaya74]

No... I won't go to FL and I will move back to Canada to live with my in-laws until my kid is born.

 

[wmjeffer]

by the way, does anyone know how it affects toddlers? or is it just a mild disease for everyone but fetuses?
we'll have several toddlers with us....
..

I've been looking into this, since my daughter will be almost 3 when we go in November, and while the research so far suggests that it does not pose a severe risk to young children (like it does to a fetus), the truth is that they don't know long term effects since it has been studied long enough. We plan on using bug spray generously, but I'm not particularly worried about it.

 

[DisneyOma]

Even with the spraying done at WDW, my daughter manages to get mosquito bites when we are there. She's a mosquito magnet. I'd worry about it if I was pregnant or had a compromised immune system.

 

[Sagginit]

I just booked a trip a few weeks ago as Zika did not appear to be an issue in FL and this warning came out. I will be nearing the end of my second trimester (24 or 23 weeks I think?) which from our research is better than getting it in the first trimester. Our airfare is non-refundable so we did research and weigh the risks to see if it was worth losing the money.

Now that being said right now its contained to the Miami area. Also the first baby born in US with Zika was in the area I live as the family came to the US from South America with Zika. I live right outside NYC and there is a huge Hispanic population. Humans are the carriers which means if they were in a Zika area where ever they return to is an at risk area, so I am just as at risk being outside in my own neighborhood as I would be in FL which is why we booked the trip before the warning came out. We figured I was just as likely to get bit in an unrecorded breakout in my area as I was in WDW. I have stayed inside a lot this summer but the few times I was out I did get a few bites, like just walking for 20 minutes. I am going to wear bug spray and hope for the best, I don't know how far it can spread in the next 50-60 days. It's not good to get it at all while pregnant but then again I get more mosquito bites in my home area than I have ever gotten on a WDW trip (I actually can't remember if I ever got any oddly enough).

I think what people forget is the strong warnings that came out from South America are for areas where people might not even have window screens or AC, and live in a tropical area without the same access to spraying. For me it's like night and day. Also those mosquitoes that spread it are active all day, not just at night. So until they tell ever woman of child bearing age to not go outside in FL I will feel comfortable going there for just a few days. That being said I would not plan a trip there in several months or next year as its more likely to grow in that time. Considering we are nearing the end of summer the fact that there has been only one outbreak in the US identified is amazing since the mosquitoes that carry cover a chunk of the country.

 

[Shanti]

I just booked a trip a few weeks ago as Zika did not appear to be an issue in FL and this warning came out. I will be nearing the end of my second trimester (24 or 23 weeks I think?) which from our research is better than getting it in the first trimester. Our airfare is non-refundable so we did research and weigh the risks to see if it was worth losing the money.

Now that being said right now its contained to the Miami area. Also the first baby born in US with Zika was in the area I live as the family came to the US from South America with Zika. I live right outside NYC and there is a huge Hispanic population. Humans are the carriers which means if they were in a Zika area where ever they return to is an at risk area, so I am just as at risk being outside in my own neighborhood as I would be in FL which is why we booked the trip before the warning came out. We figured I was just as likely to get bit in an unrecorded breakout in my area as I was in WDW. I have stayed inside a lot this summer but the few times I was out I did get a few bites, like just walking for 20 minutes. I am going to wear bug spray and hope for the best, I don't know how far it can spread in the next 50-60 days. It's not good to get it at all while pregnant but then again I get more mosquito bites in my home area than I have ever gotten on a WDW trip (I actually can't remember if I ever got any oddly enough).

I think what people forget is the strong warnings that came out from South America are for areas where people might not even have window screens or AC, and live in a tropical area without the same access to spraying. For me it's like night and day. Also those mosquitoes that spread it are active all day, not just at night. So until they tell ever woman of child bearing age to not go outside in FL I will feel comfortable going there for just a few days. That being said I would not plan a trip there in several months or next year as its more likely to grow in that time. Considering we are nearing the end of summer the fact that there has been only one outbreak in the US identified is amazing since the mosquitoes that carry cover a chunk of the country.

Which carrier are you flying with? Even if technically non-refundable, they might give you a refund or at least a credit if it's because of the new Zika in Florida developments. Jet Blue will give a credit, & of course SWA can be rescheduled/rerouted anytime.

 

[Sagginit]

It is Jetblue and we did think about what we could do if it spreads a lot. Right now though looking at all the data the risk just seems too small to warrant us canceling. We will have travel insurance that I am picking up in the next week to cover us in case of hurricane or any other issues. We had a super hard time deciding where to go with me pregnant in part because I am gluten free and getting glutened at this point is a much bigger risk for me that Zika in Florida which is why I even booked the trip. We looked into several other places but it would have meant renting a place with a kitchen and cooking the entire week on vacation as there aren't many resort type places I can go and safely eat everyday/everywhere.

 

[DisneyOma]

Now that being said right now its contained to the Miami area. Also the first baby born in US with Zika was in the area I live as the family came to the US from South America with Zika. I live right outside NYC and there is a huge Hispanic population. Humans are the carriers which means if they were in a Zika area where ever they return to is an at risk area, so I am just as at risk being outside in my own neighborhood as I would be in FL which is why we booked the trip before the warning came out. We figured I was just as likely to get bit in an unrecorded breakout in my area as I was in WDW. I have stayed inside a lot this summer but the few times I was out I did get a few bites, like just walking for 20 minutes. I am going to wear bug spray and hope for the best, I don't know how far it can spread in the next 50-60 days. It's not good to get it at all while pregnant but then again I get more mosquito bites in my home area than I have ever gotten on a WDW trip (I actually can't remember if I ever got any oddly enough).

I'm not sure of the northern border for it, but the species of mosquito that carries Zika is found in the southern part of the United States. Human to human transmission is possible in the northern areas, but the mosquito that carries it is not present up north. That's not saying the mosquitoes up here can carry it, just that the species known to carry it are not northern species. So your theory isn't valid that way. Plus, there are a lot of guests at WDW from South America - many are here to escape the craziness of the Olympics in Brazil, plus the tour groups, etc. It's more likely that a mosquito in Orlando will pick up Zika from a foreign carrier.