Zika

[lauren12344]

Hi,

My partner and I have just returned from Cuba and would like to start TTC.

Does anyone know if Zika virus testing privately is accurate?

I know we can wait 6 months but we would rather not.

Thank you, any help is gratefully received xx

My husband and I come back from Barbados 4 months ago, we were TTC before we went but stopped while we were there incase of bites, luckily we had no bites when we checked out and i was over the moon – until we landed and each had one bite, the following day i started getting Zika symptoms (achey muscles and joints, i felt like i had done 1000s of squats, unfortunately i hadn't!) although I had been ill in the lead up to the holiday and for the entire holiday Doctor advised us not to try for 6 months, but after much research i think we are going to start TTC again this month, he has no symptoms, and from what I can see after 93 days there has only been 2 cases of Zika still being found in sperm, one at 125 days and one at 189 days. Plus Colleen Rooney was in Barbados pregnant at the same time we were there!

A friend of mine fell pregnant after returning from Dominican Republic, and both her and her husband had multiple bites – all scans have shown no zika though :)

I have read you can get blood tests but they aren't always accurate. I think it depends on how you feel, I would defiantly wait a minimum of 8 weeks though, just in case, longer if you can..

The blood tests are not accurate enough to give you an absolute yes or no.

We also dont know how long zika remains in semen. The testicle is ‘immune privileged’ and so doesn’t mount an immune response in the same way as other tissues. The current recommendation is six months but with recent work into just how long semen remains ‘hot’ with some viruses like Ebola I’m not sure how accurate that is.
The sample sizes in all the studies I’ve seen are very small as well.

I honestly would wait six months. You don’t know if you’ve had zika - many infections are asymptomatic and the blood tests are not definitive.

You also don’t know what’s bitten you - the mozzie that transmits zika bites in the day for example so many people assume they’ve not been bitten by a mosquito.

So can you only get zika from a bite during the day? My husband and I were both bitten at the airport in the evening, so that would maybe suggest it wasn’t a zika mosquito?

I’ve been through this with a doc because my partner and I were living in Africa in 2016/2017. Admittedly the risk is much lower there. There are two types of Zika tests; the one to see if you have it there and then (you have to be symptomatic) and the anti body test, which will tell you with 90% certainty if you have ever had it. You have to wait about three weeks after exposure. Get a private consultation with a travel doctor. May cost a couple of hundred quid but totally worth it. Good luck!

9/10 certainty. Not certain enough for me. A few months wait versus the health of a baby? I would wait.

It all depends on how long you can wait. For example, my doc said if you’re older and high risk for chromosomal issues you can argue that it’s worse to wait because you end up statistically higher risk for chromosomal abnormality that for Zika. The chances of getting Zika are small, the chances of having an affected baby are even smaller. The chances of clearing an antibody test and still having Zika AND passing it to a child are even smaller. That said, if you’re the unlucky one the outcome is truly awful. I still think discussing the options with a private doc travel doc is a good idea as NHS docs will just recite the website info.

The other point is that the six month period is only for the male partner. It’s eight weeks for the female. If you did get a positive antibody test, you would be advised to wait only eight weeks. Your partner can’t reinfect you. You can only have it once. So in a way, a positive result is a bonus because it cuts your waiting time down, but in this case you would definitely have to wait out the eight weeks. If your partner tested positive you would definitely have to wait out six months.

So can you only get zika from a bite during the day? My husband and I were both bitten at the airport in the evening, so that would maybe suggest it wasn’t a zika mosquito?

You’ve no way of knowing what it was. The day biters don’t clock off at a specific time, and not all bites are visible or noticeable. You could have been bitten and had absolutely no reaction to it.

It is honestly not worth the risk. Risk isn’t just about the absolute chance of event x occurring, it’s about the consequences if it did. And the percentage of babies born to affected mothers with serious issues is very high indeed.
The blood tests are not 100%, youve no way of knowing if you were exposed or if one or both of you contracted zika. Really, just wait the six months.

I’m pretty sure I’ve had dengue for example - and I can’t trace that bite back.
It does suck to wait but in your shoes I would.

Thanks everyone for your replies!!

We've decided that my partner is going to have an anti body test.

It's more for me than anything! It doesn't mean that if it comes back negative we will try after 8 weeks I just feel like it will give me piece of mind (if it comes back negative!) for when we do start trying in the future!

And if for some reason the guidelines and recommendations change I have as much information as possible as to whether he has had ZIKA or not.

They have been doing more trials as it appears that ZIKA may not live in sperm for as long as they first thought. They need to do more research of course but things could change in the next few months!! - wishful thinking maybe!

Do make sure you have a consultation on your individual risks when you get the testing done!

Oh yes, most definitely!

We will still wait the 6 months I'm sure but if guidelines change at any point and they say it's now 3 months for men for example I'll have piece of mind that we've done the test as well.

There's a lot of research to suggest that although ZIKA can live in sperm for a long time it cannot be passed on for that whole time. It's only infectious for a fraction of that time. - supposedly!

Will see what happens - I'll keep on top of the research and go from there :) x

There's a lot of research to suggest that although ZIKA can live in sperm for a long time it cannot be passed on for that whole time. It's only infectious for a fraction of that time. - supposedly!

I’m a geneticist /scientist. It is not something I’d chance. I’d wait the six months. None of the tests you can have can give you a 100% definite answer. We still know very little about zika, how it causes damage or even the natural history/development of the disease in humans. Too much unknown. I’ve been following the research (emerging viral diseases are an interest of mine, although not my main work) and I just would not chance it.

I agree there's too many unknowns! I'm just going to keep up to date with the new research and see what happens.

I just wouldn't be surprised if the guidelines and recommendations changed in the next few months. There's not been much said in 2018 (the articles I can find are from 2017) so more info will be available soon hopefully.