Hello all!
My husband and I recently came back from a trip to Brazil which we had to cut short due to hearing recent news about Zika virus! It exploded in the media the week that we were there (from 11th to 18th January) in the north east region of Brazil, which is the worst affected area!
I am now 21 weeks pregnant and at the time in Brazil was bitten by a mosquito a couple of times whilst there, around 19 weeks pregnant!
The virus poses no threat to adults or non pregnant women, but can be hard to digest for feotuses and cause stillborns, or worse lead to birth of a baby with mental retardation, a brain and head half the size it should be, blindness, deafness and inability to move limbs properly! Just horrid stuff!
The worst part is that the virus is not easily diagnosed so there is no way for sure to tell if you had it or if ur baby was affected, till the very last few weeks of pregnancy. You can do a scan from week 30 to 40 to check brain size is developing normally, but there have been cases where all seemed fine on the scan but in fact the baby was deformed at birth!
There are blood tests available, it is a CPR test which has been diagnosing people as positive, but it is only effective if done immediately after a bite, and my bloods were taken a few days later so the effectiveness of the test may be diminished!!
Anyway, just wondering if any other mum to be out there is in the same predicament as me? That being: pregnant, been to Brazil in past couple of months, and bitten by mosquitos?? Just wondering, what advice, if any, you have been offered? The only thing I've been told is 'not to worry' and wait and see how things unfold, which is not very reassuring when faced with the threat of a serious birth defect!!
Get updates on how your baby develops, your body changes, and what you can expect during each week of your pregnancy by signing up to the Mumsnet Pregnancy Newsletters.
Pregnancy
Pregnant and worried may have zika virus - anyone else?
Mitty5 · 25/01/2016 20:02
Hi, I haven't been to Brazil and I don't know loads about the topic, but I didn't want to read and run. Has your GP / midwife been able to give you any information?
I can understand how worried you must be. I'm not sure they know when in the pregnancy the fetus is most vulnerable - it may be in the first trimester when the brain/head is first developing, which, if this is the case, your baby may not be at risk. Also, you would have to have been bitten by a mosquito which is carrying the virus. Perhaps the ones you were bitten by didn't.
Really sorry you are going through this. I hope everything is ok with your little and that you get all the information you need 
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.