of course we knew it was only a matter of time…but zika is here and ironically the first known cluster is in one of the countries hottest most trendy areas.
http://www.local10.com/health/zika-virus/amid-zika-fears-wynwood-mom-and-pop-stores-remind-visitors-locals-theyre-still-open
do you take the threat seriously or do you think only pregnant women should be concerned?
IMO being concerned for pregnant woman. women looking to become pregnant, and their sexual partners is taking the threat seriously.
I agree but, I think many people just brush off the issue…I perhaps over worry many times(in life) but zika related birth defects are no joke and I am sure the children born without the obviously visible birth defects are just the tip of the iceberg. i am sure over the next couple years a lot of kids born exposed to zika but without the visible issues, probably have serious internal brain issues that will become more apparent as they mature.
It’s really worrying us. We have a vacation planned at Thanksgiving to FL. We have quite a few women of child bearing age in our group although only one plans on being, or becoming pregnant soon. On the other hand, what about the thousands of women of child bearing age living there? Something needs to be done.
It’s a very serious problem. One thing that won’t help is that the states expected to have the biggest zika problem are also states with the strictest restrictions and most obstacles to abortion. I feel like women that didn’t previously notice or care about their state’s restrictions are going to receive a difficult education on the subject in the coming years.
I recently attemded a conference where one of the women told me the whole Zika is thing was a hoax made up by the government. I have a feeling that same person was scared to death of Ebola.
some people love a hoax…but on a side note we are not done with ebola, and when it mutates a little more we are going to be in a really bad spot. if a vaccine for the current ebola (as ebola exists today) is not found to build a base immunity to that type of virus…we are in big trouble. just because the media stopped talking about ebola does not mean it went extinct or is not mutating like all viruses do. it will be back soon! whether that is in 1,3,7 years i do not know.
Blood banks are now turning away potential donors who have been to Miami, Puerto Rico and other Zika infected areas in the last month.
@anomader hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately, Zika is going to hit hardest in areas where there are severe abortion restrictions. It is going to hit women and families who are low income the hardest. They have the least resources to protect themselves, restrictions to abortion, and the least resources to raise a child with severe physical and mental disabilities. And if they give the child up for adoption for whatever reason, children with disabilities are the hardest to adopt out.
The “good” news is that mosquitoes don’t venture very far during their lifetimes.
The bad news: people do.
If I was working in Florida’s public health system, I would be pushing to get treated mosquito nets out to every woman who is pregnant or trying to become pregnant (and to their partners if they don’t sleep in the same bed).
Zika itself is not especially hard to deal with. The vast majority of people who get sick are only sick for a few days and only 1 in 5 people affected show symptoms. The hard part is going to be the Zika babies. They will almost certainly rack up astronomically high medical and other bills (therapy, etc).
It’s strange. It took killer bees more than 50 years to migrate up from Brazil. Mosquitos must be hitchhiking.
Fl news is become no saturated with news about Sita prevention. They talk of men’s sperm being infected for 6-9 months. They speak of staying indoors, with a/c, special netting for windows, or at worst, sleeping under netting. Local news is really trying.
At what point is it safe for a woman to get pregnant after she has caught the Zika virus?
I’m not sure they have a definitive answer on that–it stays in sperm for 6-9 months. Not sure for women. I’d probably wait a year or more, personally.
The bees actually had to get here. The mosquitoes did not, only the virus does. We have the Aedes aegypti mosquito here (the one that carries Zika as well as other diseases like Dengue) and all mosquitoes need to do is bite someone carrying the virus and away it goes.
@bookworm that is truly great to hear. I hope the message and resources are getting out to the people who need it most.
These are the CDC recommendations:
Honestly, these numbers are from an overabundance of caution. The virus doesn’t actually stay in your system for 8 weeks.
I’m shocked at the 6 months recommendation for men!! People are unlikely to comply with that.
It’s not 6 months without sex (though 6 months with condoms!). I have a lot of friends and family members who are pregnant right now or trying to get pregnant. I think all of them would wait 6 more months in a heartbeat if it was to keep their baby healthy. However, these people are all young and (likely) fertile. It’s going to be much harder on “older” couples and those going through fertility treatments.
mosquito pesticide danger
http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/pesticide-sprayed-over-wynwood-is-banned-in-europe-may-also-harm-fetuses-8671169
^ Warms my heart to know the CDC is looking after my health.
Ironic that after all the concern leading up to the Olympics in Brazil and Zika, that all the Zika related headlines lately center on the Miami area.
I feel for all the people of reproductive age in that area and am concerned about how far it will spread from here.