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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

WIBU to not go on holiday due to pregnancy and Zika virus

167 replies

PinkyOfPie · 17/05/2016 08:38

Due to go to Spain on a large family holiday in July for 10 days. I'll be around 4 months pregnant.

According to WHO there have been no Zika virus outbreaks in Europe yet, but according to various sources it is expected in the summer once "mosquito season" starts. Mosquitoes flock to me like a magnet usually, I must have tasty blood, and I'm nervous about going. I would send DH and 3yo DD on their own and stay here, but it would break my heart to do so (what on earth would I actually do for 10 days?!). On the other hand, it's a bit of a risk to take for Bump.

My mum said she'd come up for 10 days and keep me company and have trips away in UK etc, but it's not the same as being with my DH and DD.

AIBU and hysterical to consider staying at home?

OP posts:
RJARPCGP · 19/05/2016 16:11

Oh, and I forgot to add the following:

Deer mice are cute, but deadlier! How ironic!
They have a bi-colored tail, with white on the lower part.

I started getting worried about the version of hantavirus we have, since 2012, because of the Yosemite hantavirus outbreak.

A related hantavirus was confirmed to be in Vermont during the early-2000s, but that was in Calais, Vermont, at least about 100 miles north of Springfield, thus, far away from me.

MsBojangles · 19/05/2016 21:33

I wouldn't go, as others have said the risk might be small but the consequences are enormous if you are one of the unlucky ones. It's just not worth it.

Can any of the science bods explain, in simple terms, how these diseases come to be, how do they originate?

BarbarianMum · 20/05/2016 13:49
MsBojangles · 20/05/2016 17:58

Thank you BarbarianMum. Nature is frightening in the way that it's always one step ahead of us mere humans, no matter how many advancements are made, we're still ultimately at it's mercy.

Itching my bum of at the thought of being a 'human host'!

ClaraCat1 · 20/05/2016 18:33

For what it's worth, I spoke to my GP today about this. I am not pregnant and my husband and I aren't even trying yet but will be later on in the year and she told me the current advice to pregnant women/couples trying to conceive (it can last in sperm for a long time apparently) is to avoid Spain (as I specifically asked about here as that's where we were planning on going) as it's just not worth the risk. We are now not going. This may seem excessively cautious but I don't NEED to go to Spain and since this is what my GP said then I'm going on that. She said the problem is that Zika is a bit of an unknown quantity at the moment; they just don't know enough about it.

SJane45S · 20/05/2016 18:43

If I were you I'd not make any decisions yet. At the moment it's still all a probable possibility not an actual real thing. It's dependent on a number of factors actually happening so why not wait and see? Good luck!

Afreshstartplease · 20/05/2016 19:21

Did they really say that Clara?

I'm 18 weeks and due to fly to Spain in just over one week

I don't know what to do!

hilbertspace · 20/05/2016 19:45

I don't see how you would be able to relax at all, you'd have to be constantly on the watch for mosquitoes. Get even one bite and you'll either worry for the rest of your pregnancy but then be OK, or worry for the rest of your pregnancy and then have the baby not be OK. Even if the chance of a bad outcome is low the worry would still be there wouldn't it? And I wouldn't want to be going anywhere where I was forced to use deet while pregnant either.

Afreshstartplease · 20/05/2016 20:01

I thought deet is safe

ClaraCat1 · 20/05/2016 20:07

She did yes :( I think they have to be cautious though because they don't really know the risk it's all so up in the air at the moment. They can't say oh it's fine and then something happens. They have to say what the health authorities tell them to. Could all turn out to be fine but they need to be cautious and go on what they are told. You should try and see your gp before you go and see what she/he says.

hilbertspace · 20/05/2016 20:24

Deet is safer for the baby than you catching a disease like malaria or West Nile virus or this Zika virus, but that isn't the same thing as it being completely harmless. It's still recommended to minimise exposure, it's just that if you're somewhere with mosquito-borne disease the diseases are likely to be the worse risk so the deet is the lesser of two evils.

Afreshstartplease · 20/05/2016 20:28

I will try and get in to see the gp this week

Also wondering about phoning the holiday company and seeing if we can go elsewhere

Afreshstartplease · 20/05/2016 20:34

The canaries are still clear yes?

Laptopontable · 20/05/2016 20:41

But Europe is still clear? There's no zika there yet.

Afreshstartplease · 20/05/2016 20:45

Yet, but they are saying it may be there in weeks!,

I will be there in weeks!

I can't work out if I'm becoming almost hysterical over something that's not that big a problem

Different people are saying different things and it's very confusing

Feefeefs · 20/05/2016 20:51

Go and use deet and a mosquito net if your worried B vitamins of any sort are not going to stop mosquitos and neither is any of the other crap citronella etc. I would think the risk is less than zero.

Oly5 · 20/05/2016 20:55

Fee, the risk is not less than zero. That's complete nonsense. Read what the experts have said... There is a "very real" risk it will come to Europe.
It will take a while to establish active virus.. By which time lots of people will have been affected.
WHO has just declared Zika in Africa... It's taken reports of people being ill and three babies to be born with microencephaly for that to be declared.
This is not media scaremongering.. It is a genuine risk

Oly5 · 20/05/2016 20:57

Ps Afresh, the holiday firm will not change your holiday unless the foreign office changes travel advice, which they won't do until there is evidence of active transmission.
The GP will also tell you there is no active transmission... But as I said it takes a while for active transmission to be established

SolomanDaisy · 20/05/2016 21:07

No one is actually saying the virus will be in Europe in weeks. The mosquito season starts within weeks. The WHO assessments are of potential future possibility of in country transmission, not of likelihood of this year being the year. And Spain is only one risk category higher than the UK. France is in the same category as Spain. I wouldn't go to the Black Sea or Madeira, but avoiding the rest of Europe is currently over cautious. The Zika virus has existed for a long time, the recent spread in South America does not necessarily mean it's about to spread in Europe.

Afreshstartplease · 20/05/2016 21:11

OK so do I calm the fuck down, see my gp and find out how much deet I can use?

scoobyloobyloo · 21/05/2016 07:37

The risk is less than zero is not a massively scientific statement!

They announced yesterday that it's in Cape Verde, islands off Africa.

I would say that it's pretty much a given that wherever the main mosquito carrier is that zika will be present there this summer - in Europe that's Madeira and the Black Sea. The issue in Europe is that they think another kind of mozzie can potentially spread it although not as effectively.

I imagine that if they do find it there that insurance companies will have to allow pregnant women to cancel. However, as I found out - it takes weeks after the virus arrives in the country for it to be confirmed that it is there - 80% of people have no symptoms. Those that do, it has an incubation period of 5-10 days, then a wait of about 2 weeks for testing. Also bear in mind that it is so mild, most people will never go for testing. So you have a minimum of 3 weeks of it being in a country before it's confirmed.

My bites in Barbados happened the day before the results were published by the government. They had not released any statement saying it might be in the country before then. When they announced it, 3 people had tested positive meaning at least 15 people on the island had had it. The second round of testing showed 300 people had it, these were people who actively had the virus when I was on this island meaning a minimum of 1500 people were infectious whilst I was there, without anyone actually knowing it!

The problem is, you can't assess the risk that the country presents until after you have been.

I'm lucky that my baby is ok but that was through chance. Our holiday cost 3k. We both say we would totally have ditched it to save the worry and anguish we have had since January.

The people telling you to go are not pregnant women about to go to a country with a risk of zika. The likelihood is that you would go and be totally fine. There is a small possibility that you wouldn't - would you want this hanging over you for the rest of your pregnancy?

SolomanDaisy · 21/05/2016 08:31

I am a pregnant woman living in continental Europe (in a country with the same risk level as the UK). I would go to Spain. I have read the WHO report. I have ordered insect screens for our house here and we've got rid of our garden pond, so it's not like I'm totally ignoring the risk, but in reality the risk of Zika spreading in mainland Europe within the next few months is very low indeed. If it becomes established in Spain, there may well be cases of transference within the UK too. I would stick to FCO travel advice, anything else is excessive.

Afreshstartplease · 21/05/2016 08:35

That's good to read soloman

I am feeling calmer today

Just need to work on what deet is best to get

Looking online for suitable light coloured trousers as I read the mosquitos are attracted to dark colours and ankles/feet

Feefeefs · 21/05/2016 08:52

Actually i am a pregnant woman and i will go likely to Portugal this summer. I did not go to Brazil however to visit my brother.

It will be extremely difficult for them to ever quantify numbers getting Zika in Europe particularly due to the olympics being in Brazil this summer the likelihood is that most of any new European cases will be Europeans coming back from brazil.

Zika virus has always been in Africa it's were the mosquito and virus originated in the Zika forest in Uganda in the 1940's.

It reminds me of the whole swine flu panic yes people did get swine flu and die I realise, but the numbers are so small. Swine flu and normal flu still continues and last years flu vaccination was only 3% effective and it's usually at most 50% effective. Do you avoid all contact with people when pregnant? Are hospital workers considered high risk? No.

You can manage risk effectively, don't go to areas where the virus is actively spreading OP but go to Spain and be careful enjoy your holiday with your family.

DuckWaddle · 21/05/2016 08:53

It's such a hard dilemma. I decided not to go to Texas for work because of the risk. But I hadn't booked the trip so the decision was far easier. I've also decided not to travel to the EU this summer as I'm currently 14 weeks pregnant.
My worry is that we'll find out that the zika virus is there a while after it has started and if i subsequently found out I was there at the time I'd be worried the whole
Pregnancy. I really understand your dilemma and I don't think you're being over the top. I'm sure the risk is low but I know I'd worry the whole time. I specialise in infectious diseases and whilst I recognise the risk, at present, is low I don't want to worry throughout the rest of my pregnancy.

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