I have seen no warnings against traveling to Brazil other than those currently pregnant or looking to get pregnant in the several months post visit. Yes, Zika as an issue but it is not Ebola. Post #18 seems a bit alarmist given the current facts we have to go by.
My brother was a volunteer at the 2012 London Olympics (he ended up being in the closing show ). It was a wonderful experience - truly once in a lifetime.
IF someone, even a man, is bitten by a mosquito carrying Zika, and then travels to another country, he is a carrier! If HE is then bitten by mosquitoes, the virus will spread , just like Malaria, to anyone else the mosquitoes bites! This is infectious diseases 101. Zika can also be transmitted by sex, and the virus has also just been found in saliva samples . There is NO CURE or known PREVENTIVE, except to NOT be bitten by mosquitoes, which are really hard to avoid in many parts of the US during the summer. And there are over 200,000 Americans alone planning on going to the Olympics. IN the Summer. When the mosquitoes are most active. You dont think this could become a world wide health emergency in a big hurry??
Are you willing to wait until an official, bureaucratic government agency actually acts before you pay attention? How well did that work for the citzens of Flint Michigan??
Forget about Zika and gangs… No housing provided - that would be a deal killer for me! The prices in decent places will be outrageous, and most likely the good hotels are sold out.
I’m with @BunsenBurner on this one. To @oldfort 's point earlier I’ve been to both Rio and Mexico City and I’ve never felt unsafe, but did take normal precautions (although I did flag down a taxi in DF out of desperation.) But having to secure your own housing for the Olympics? Ummm, no.
I didn’t find cost of living in Mexico or Brazil to be that much lower than major US cities. Unless the daughter is willing to spend a lot of money, I don’t think she will be able to find housing close to the Olympic village or to the stadiums.
OP’s daughter should read up on Rio’s public transportation to see how safe they are, and how comfortable she would be taking a taxi late at night back to her apartment by herself.
There was a thread about medical care while traveling abroad. OP should read up on it. It would be another additional cost to the D.
"@Young professionals in my firm (without personal driver/car) were told not to get taxis off the street. "
I’ve not been to Rio, but I’ve been to São Paulo numerous times for business, and I too would never take a taxi off the street there. You really can’t walk anywhere unless you’re in a group. And you certainly can’t have anything that suggests even moderate wealth like a smartphone. It’s nothing like going to W Europe.
The housing is the biggest issue, IMO. Can she hook up with other volunteers and get a place that they know is in a safe area? And with easy access to the volunteering locations? If someone is not providing housing assistance, that is a big red flag to me. Anywhere “affordable” is probably going to be in a very bad part of town.
The taxi and public transportation issue has already been mentioned in this thread.
I was in Bogota fairly recently for work and we were told not to flag down taxis on the street and all the vehicles we used were armored. They also do the kidnap and take people to the ATM around midnight thing in Bogota.
These are common issues in Latin America.
Odds are, you will be fine. But there are some real risks. Are you ok with a 95% chance that your taxi is fine and you will not be taken to the ATM? What about an 85% chance? What about a 99% chance?
I wouldn’t go as far as other people and say you should not walk anywhere in these cities, but you should definitely be careful and aware of your surroundings. It is very important that you know what part of the cities are what. Will there be a security briefing for volunteers? If your kid was a government employee, she would receive a security brief on her first day, explains do’s and don’ts of the city, and what places are off limits.
Also, I’m sure in Rio, it will be a huge party atmosphere. Not that that is bad.
Here is the current warning on Rio, from the U.S. Embassy in Brazil: http://brazil.usembassy.gov/travel-advisory/warden-information/security-message-for-rio-de-janeiro-on-august-14-2016.html
There is no known cure for the common cold, either.
Good freaking grief, post #18 is one of the biggest overreactions I’ve seen in a long, long time (and truly, that’s saying something). As for the connection with GBS, there is no definitive proof yet and there’s been a rise in places without the Zika Virus.
Go or don’t go based on the numerous other things here, but for the love of all that is good some people need to take a heavy dose of chill pills.
Brazil is not as dangerous as it once was. During the Olympics, it will be crawling with security. Every time there is a major international sporting event (think Pan American Games), the police become hyper vigilant so as to avoid international incidents. Does that mean personal risk is zero? Of course not. It’s a large city with a substantial impoverished population. Yes, bad things can happen, as can happen in any large metropolitan area, and she’ll need to keep her wits about her. But chances are she’ll be fine if she uses her common sense.
Yes, Rio will be hideously expensive. She should find out in advance what sort of housing is available near the Olympic Village, what kind of transportation is available, and how long it will take to get from point A to point B. Traffic can be a nightmare.
Yes, if you need a taxi, better to use a call service.
Exposure to Zika would give me pause, although I suspect it will be everywhere before long.
If she does decide to go, try not to worry!
" There is no known cure for the common cold, either."
Does the common cold cause birth defects?
Guillain-Barré syndrome?
microcephaly?? Which is the technical term for children born with undersized heads and who are permanently ■■■■■■■■/ disabled?
No?
thought not…
why dont you read this before making any further comments…
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/07/health/zika-virus-brazil-how-it-spread-explained.html
"In May, after it was confirmed that Zika was circulating in Brazil, it took only a few weeks for doctors to suspect that Dr. Chioro, the health minister, had been mistaken. There were hints that the virus was anything but benign.
In Maceió, Recife and other cities, cases of Guillain-Barré began to spike. Dr. María Lúcia Brito, a neurologist in Recife, saw 50 patients with it in 2015, up from 14 the year before.
Dr. Mauricio L. Nogueira, a doctor from southern Brazil who had seen no cases in his region, which is as far from the tropical north as Quebec is from Miami, remembers visiting a hospital in the northern city of Salvador. He is still haunted by what he saw: 25 microcephalic children, all born in the previous 10 days."
“The U.S. already has 33 confirmed cases - 12 of which are in Florida, considered “ground zero” in the U.S. for the virus since mosquitoes are prevalent all year-round in some areas. All 12 cases are travel related.”
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/05/health/zika-urine-saliva/
"Men exposed to the Zika virus and who have a pregnant partner should use a condom or abstain from sex until the baby is born, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised Friday in guidelines aimed at preventing sexual transmission of the virus.
Officials also said that pregnant women who have been exposed to Zika should talk with their doctors about testing for the virus."
While saying that the situation with Zika is “evolving rapidly” and that much had been learned in just the past two weeks, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden stressed in a news briefing that the primary concern with Zika at this time is protecting pregnant women and their unborn babies from a neurological disorder known as microcephaly.
“Each passing day, the linkage between Zika and microcephaly becomes stronger,” Frieden said. Microcephaly results in babies being born with abnormally small heads that can lead to severe development delays and even death.
You can ignore what is written if you wish, like so many who chose to ignore or poo-pooh scientific proof of climate change for so long, but thankfully the CDC and WHO are not ignoring this new epidemic affecting people in the Southern Hemisphere and beyond.
Unless I am missing something, the danger with Zika is if you are pregnant, otherwise you might not even know you got the virus. OP- put her on birth control if she isn’t already even if she isn’t planning any sort of relationship.
Is the volunteer going to be with the US Olympic team, or for the Olympics in general? I’ve read that budgets for various aspects of the 2016 Olympics have been slashed. Hope security isn’t one of the areas being cut!
Airfare and living accommodations could be pricey.
How long does the Zika virus stay in the body? How long can men infect their sexual partners afterwards?
If it were that easy to be a “carrier” then we wouldn’t still have barrier-free air travel between the US and affected countries. The US does not have the type of mosquito that transmits zika. Thus, the D can not be a carrier. Please check facts before being so alarmist.
@garland We do have the proper vectors in the US. From the CDC "Zika virus is transmitted to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (A. aegypti and A. albopictus). These are the same mosquitoes that spread dengue and chikungunya viruses…The U.S. mainland does have Aedes species mosquitoes that can become infected with and spread Zika virus. U.S. travelers who visit a country where Zika is found could become infected if bitten by a mosquito.
With the recent outbreaks, the number of Zika virus disease cases among travelers visiting or returning to the United States will likely increase. These imported cases may result in local spread of the virus in some areas of the United States. CDC has been monitoring these epidemics and is prepared to address cases imported into the United States and cases transmitted locally."
You can find a map of the distribution of both types of mosquito if you scroll down the page here http://www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/resources/vector-control.html
Whoops. I was wrong about that. However, it still remains true that as long as travel is not restricted to Brazil, any one person is not going to change things. If she isn’t on the plane she takes, someone else is. So it really depends on the travel restrictions in place at the time.
It would also matter where she lives in the US. the primary vector mosquito is not widespread here.
Yes, the primary vector is Aedes aegypti- a mosquito not commonly found outside of the tropics but known for carrying other tropical illness like Dengue fever.
I’d be MUCH more worried about Dengue. Dengue, unlike Zika, is known to actually kill adults. There are more than enough actually scary viruses out there- no need to be hysterical over this.
PS: Menlo, I am steeped in Maternal and Child Health especially of Latin America. That is where the bulk of my research is and even though I now primarily work in medical history, I am still extremely active in modern MCH issues especially around reproductive health. I also happen to be working with one of the leading MCH researchers in Latin/South America right now and we have discussed Zika extensively among ourselves and other MCH researchers.
Perhaps it is YOU who should read more and understand things better in context. Yes, we KNOW it almost certainly causes birth defects and other fetal abnormalities. We have said NUMEROUS times that pregnant women should not travel to these places and take steps to protect themselves. HOWEVER, that is not the same as an adult contracting Zika if she is not pregnant. Further, the virus only stays in your system for about a week so as long as you put off pregnancy during that time, you’re good.