Cape Verde - Zika?

[OhCrapThatsAProblem]

Panicking! Holiday to Cape Verde booked at the end of March - organised looooong before I got pregnant (currently 17 weeks). I've just read on the gov.uk website that there's a moderate risk of Zika virus and the advice is for pregnant women to avoid travelling there.

However, this advice seems really old - there has been no reported cases of Zika in Cape Verde since the major outbreak in 2015-2016.

I don't know what to do - the reading I've done indicates that the risk is really low, but I absolutely don't want to put my baby at risk.

I don't think I can go, can I?

Are you staying in a resort?

I know when I was in the Carribean they fogged the boundaries of the resorts to reduce the risk. Probably worth contacting travel agent or someone in the know.

Sorry but no, there's not a chance I would go. You'll be so stressed when you invariable get a mosquito bite. You also really don't want to slather yourself in DEET while pregnant and you'd have no other choice.

Yes, staying in a resort, @RiverRock22 - I'll email the hotel.

That's exactly it, @Sarain - I don't think I'd relax for a single second in case I get bitten. And yes, the advice is to use insect repellent with minimum 50% DEET - that's not going to be good for the baby!

ARRRRRGGGGGHHH this is awful. I was so looking forward to this holiday!

I was in the same position as you a couple of years ago, ended up swapping holiday to the canaries instead, not worth the stress!

Ah how annoying for you! Did you use a travel agent? Could you rearrange to a different location, maybe the Canaries? (I don't know if there's Zika there?)

I've just had a look at the travel documents - non-refundable, non-transferable etc. I'm going to check our travel insurance as the holiday was booked months before I got pregnant so maybe it will be covered . . . doubt it, though, there's probably an exclusion

If the official travel advice is not to go then usually insurance will pay try your credit card provider.

Not worth the risk, great news that you took out the travel insurance months ago, before you were pregnant. Hopefully the policy will cover you. TBH everyone I know that has been to CV has moaned about it, never known anyone to return, so possibly a blessing tbh.

It is a risk. I've been reading that there are other mosquito born diseases appearing in Europe as well.
www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/how-mosquitoes-might-affect-european-holidays-summer/