Zika Virus and travel yes or no

[drron]

To help allay any fears some have, it might help if you explained what you actually do in Colombia.
I'm sure for example I would be more interested in Princess Fiona, shrek, Drross or Drron (sorry if I left anyone out here) had to say on matters medical in Australia, irrespective of who else lives there .
PS I really want to visit your part of the world, I'm particularly interested in Ecuador.

I doubt you are pregnant GPH so absolutely no reason not to go to South America.

 

[Deleted member]

I doubt you are pregnant GPH so absolutely no reason not to go to South America.

Mrs GPH is headed in that direction come December.

 

[drron]

Mrs GPH is headed in that direction come December.

But that's 10 months away!:shock::shock:

 

[Deleted member]

But that's 10 months away!:shock::shock:

And the planning has started in Ernest. So far on the list is Cuba, Peru,chile, grand Cayman, Trinidad , I'm not sure how many will get up, but the list s a good one.

 

[amaroo]

 <snip>

And please the travel precautions are just for pregnant women.The rest of us should have no qualms about travelling to Brazil.I do however agree with the travel directive until the facts are in.

Totally agree.

This will be catastrophic for tourism and general travel plans. If we were younger and thinking about starting a family - I wouldn't travel!

Hopefully, our baby making days are behind us... we'll be packing our bags for Peru and Chile in a few months.

 

[marki]

"I am now declaring that the recent cluster of microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities reported in Latin America following a similar cluster in French Polynesia in 2014 constitutes a public health emergency of interred national concern. She said the priorities were to protect pregnant women and their babies from harm and to control the mosquitoes that are spreading the virus.
She advised pregnant women:
■ to consider delaying travel to areas affected by Zika
■ seek advice from their physician if they are living in areas affected by Zika, as well as protect themselves against mosquito bites by wearing repellent

Dr Chan justified declaring an emergency even amid uncertainties about the disease, saying it was time to take action.The WHO has already warned that Zika is likely to "spread explosively" across nearly all of the Americas. More than 20 countries, including Brazil, are reporting cases.

What is interesting is this is considered on par with Ebola

 

[marki]

1947 - The virus is discovered in a rhesus macaque in the Zika Forest, Uganda.

1952 - The first human case is recorded, in Nigeria.

2007 - An outbreak occurs on Yap Island, Federated States of Micronesia with <150 cases.

2011 - A possible case of sexual transmission of ZIKV is published.

2013-14 - A ZIKV outbreak is recorded in French Polynesia with >30,000 cases estimated.

February 2014 - A case of local transmission of ZIKV is reported on Easter Island.

March 2014 - Queensland records its first case of imported ZIKV.

February 2015 - Brazilian health authorities investigate thousands of cases of unidentified mild rash illness.

March 2015 - Solomon Islands reports its first laboratory-confirmed case of ZIKV.

April 2015 - Vanuatu reports its first cases of ZIKV.

May 2015 - Brazil confirms its first confirmed case of ZIKV.

November 2015 - Indonesia records its first molecularly confirmed case; Brazil reports a surprising increase in babies born with microcephaly.

December 2015 - Brazil declares state of emergency with thousands of cases of microcephaly linked to ZIKV.

January 2016 - US and Australian health authorities warn pregnant women to avoid the 22 countries with ongoing outbreaks; Countries in southern and central America warn women to avoid pregnancy.

28 January 2016 - WHO director-general Dr Margaret Chan warns ZIKV is “spreading explosively”.

1 February 2016 - WHO declares ZIKV to be a public health emergency of international conc

 

[drron]

Don't always trust the WHO to get it wrong.They were too slow to respond to the Ebola crisis so now they have gone the other way.It is likely the Brazil cases are due to a mutation of the virus-
Zika virus in Brazil may be mutated strain | News | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Genetic Characterization of Zika Virus Strains: Geographic Expansion of the Asian Lineage

And the 4000 + cases suspected to be Zika related is likely to be very inaccurate-
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-microcephaly-cases-than-previously-reported/

And from the original Brazilian health report-

The wide media coverage of the possible microcephaly epidemic caused by the Zika virus (ZIKV) should lead to increased number of microcephaly cases in all Brazilian states resulting from improved notification to SINASC derived from mandatory reporting of cases of microcephaly to the Epidemiological Surveillance Service.
 The current data, affected by the change of criterion determining the measurement of head circumference to suspect microcephaly do not allow to assess whether:
1. a real increase in microcephaly prevalence at birth occurred in Northeastern Brazil
2. what was the magnitude of this increase
3. was this increase due to exposure to the ZIKV or increased exposure to one or more environmental causes of microcephaly (STORCH, alcohol, prematurity, diabetes, etc

http://www.nature.com/polopoly_fs/7.33594!/file/NS-724-2015_ECLAMC-ZIKA VIRUS_V-FINAL_012516.pdf

 

[marki]

Thanks DrRon will read thru very interesting stuff , I do realise WHO can be hopeless.

 

[JohnK]

I doubt you are pregnant GPH so absolutely no reason not to go to South America.

Excuse the ignorance but is it possible for a male to contract the virus say overseas and then pass that virus onto a pregnant woman back home?

 

[drron]

Excuse the ignorance but is it possible for a male to contract the virus say overseas and then pass that virus onto a pregnant woman back home?

There have been 2 reports of Zika being transmitted by intercourse.A married couple were in Africa helping out in the Ebola crisis.He got Zika on their last day there.About 5 days later his wife came down with Zika when back in the USA.
So very unlikely and Zika does not last too long in our bodies so 10-14 days of abstinence!

 

[marki]

In Theory yes........ You would need to have that virus flowing in your blood( vireamia) and then a mosquitos biting you then going on to bite a pregnant female. Although it could go thru several other people before hopping onto that female.

 

[marki]

Two confirmed cases of Zika virus in Australia, researchers warn after WHO emergency declaration | smh.com.au - www.smh.com.au http://www.smh.com.au/national/heal...ho-emergency-declaration-20160202-gmjhg4.html

Excellent video explanation ...... Most likely areas for possible infection Cairns and Townsville! Ie far North Qld.

 

[marki]

Confirmed cases of Zika virus infection acquired via sexual transmission.

Underlines how little is known about the virus.

 

[JohnK]

There have been 2 reports of Zika being transmitted by intercourse.A married couple were in Africa helping out in the Ebola crisis.He got Zika on their last day there.About 5 days later his wife came down with Zika when back in the USA.
So very unlikely and Zika does not last too long in our bodies so 10-14 days of abstinence!

So transmission not possible other than sexual contact?

I am starting to worry as I travel quite a bit in short space of time.

 

[Pushka]

So transmission not possible other than sexual contact?

I am starting to worry as I travel quite a bit in short space of time.

And you are worried about transmission to others because?

 

[Mark3000]

I'm with Juddles on this one. Media irresponsibility and hype to sell newspapers. I would much rather get Zika than Dengue for example which is far more common in Australia

 

[JohnK]

And you are worried about transmission to others because?

Because my wife is going through IVF again and will more than likely be going through IVF again in March. This worries the hell out of me. Not what it might do to me but what it could do to an unborn baby.

Luck this lifetime hasn't been the greatest. Now is not the time to test it.

 

[Pushka]

Understandable JohnK.

I am pretty sure most males are not worried about the virus for themselves. That isn't what current issue is at all. Its a mild virus to non pregnant people. But that isnt what the warnings are for.

Discoveries start with observation. It can take a long time for the evidence to catch up. Why risk it.

 

[drron]

Understandable JohnK.

I am pretty sure most males are not worried about the virus for themselves. That isn't what current issue is at all. Its a mild virus to non pregnant people. But that isnt what the warnings are for.

Discoveries start with observation. It can take a long time for the evidence to catch up. Why risk it.

Except that the Asian strain of the virus has been around a long time.It is endemic in Thailand,Cambodia,Indonesia including Bali.A traveller returning from the Maldives 12 months ago had Zika.The association with microcephaly has not been seen before.
In 2007 there was an outbreak on Yap and it was estimated over 70% of the population were infected in that outbreak.Still a mild illness.
In 2013/14 an outbreak in French Polynesia and for the first time a possible severe consequence-Guillain-Barrie syndrome-a neurological disease.From there to our Pacific neighbours to the north east but also to Easter Island.In early 2015 an outbreak in Brazil-a suggested route of the virus was a World Canoe championship held in Rio in August 2014.Teams from French Polynesia,New Caledonia,Cook Islands and Easter Island took part.Those places had all had Zika outbreaks.
It has then been in Brazil where microcephaly appears to have been associated with the virus.Many feel there has been a mutation of the virus to have caused this.

But remember there are common organisms even in developed countries that can cause microcephaly.CMV is a virus that causes 4-5000 cases of microcephaly per year in the USA.Rubella is still around though in Australia a woman should be tested for immunity if pregnant-preferably before.
JohnK just make sure your wife has immunity to rubella.