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Original poster

DH wants to cancel Spain holiday because of Zika riks

37 replies

deemee · 07/08/2016 09:53

I'm not sure what to do . Our holiday is now all booked but my husband is saying that as Spain has a moderate risk of Zika and Florida had an outbreak with no prior warning we could return from Spain or be in spain when an outbreak is confirmed.
He says we can't risk this
But no one else seems to be cancelling and o cat find any advice from doctors etc
Anyone else discussed this?

OP posts:
smellsofelderberries · 07/08/2016 10:35

I thought things were fine in Spain. The only report I can see if someone in Spain being diagnosed, she had just come back from Columbia which is where she contracted the virus.

I would go, but be really vigilant with mozzie repellant to easy my worries.

Minispringroll · 07/08/2016 10:36

DH is worried as well, so we decided not to go to Spain this year. We'll be going next year (he owes me that holiday...I've had a hell of a year and deserve it) and we'll probably also take a trip to Germany, where the weather is usually lovely in the summer (but I'm not prepared to drive for that many hours at the moment). We're going to Cornwall instead this year, which will also be lovely and means I only drive for an hour, although I'll miss the hot weather. That was decided weeks ago, though, and we hadn't booked anything, yet.

If your holiday is booked, I wouldn't cancel it because of this. Make sure you take some proper mosquito repellent and perhaps one of those plug in ones for the room/mosquito net for the bed. I usually only get bitten at night, not when I'm out and about. I'd stay away from farms and woodlands and such places. Not sure whether there are many mosquitos at the beach. (Ours here is certainly too windy...they'd all be swept away in seconds.) Depending on where you are staying, the hotel/travel agent might be able to advise you as well.
Have a lovely holiday and try to relax. Smile

PotteringAlong · 07/08/2016 10:39

You could be anywhere when an outbreak is confirmed. Best stay in the house and hope it doesn't blow up in an unexpected gas leak explosion...

Your DH needs to be nicely but firmly told to get a grip

Original poster
deemee · 07/08/2016 10:42

Lol I know!
But WHO guidance on this seems to be a little funny.
They announced in May Zika likely to reach Spain by summer and nothing since
But then in Florida you only hear of an outbreak once 10s of people already infected
I am like a mosquito magnet no idea why but I get bitten when no one else does
His rationale is that money/holiday are irrelevant compared to babies health but i am finding it hard to argue back when the risk has not been quantified

OP posts:
RandomMess · 07/08/2016 10:47

There are only certain climates that the mosquito that carries in can survive in - no idea if they can live in Spain?

I suspect in later pregnancy Ziko virus wouldn't damage an unborn baby tbh but I guess the jury is out on that.

On the other hand why risk it?

RandomMess · 07/08/2016 10:49

X-posts ok so it is possible then!

Well once one person has brought it back that is how it can then suddenly infect in Spain. That person gets bitten in Spain and that mosquito passes it onto several humans and so on... Problem with Ziko is that many people who have it are symptomless.

Original poster
deemee · 07/08/2016 11:00

Yep a mosquito that can carry the virus lives in Spain.. like randommess says it just takes one of these mosquitos to bite someone infected and then it can pass on.. Chances small but impossible to but a figure on it as so many unknowns

OP posts:
quicklydecides · 07/08/2016 11:02

Are you pregnant? Or hoping to be?

Scarydinosaurs · 07/08/2016 11:02

I didn't book in Spain for precisely this reason. Personally, I wouldn't go and would cancel.

MephistoMarley · 07/08/2016 11:04

How pregnant are you?

LadyMonicaBaddingham · 07/08/2016 11:10

Are you pregnant, OP? That might explain your DH's concern..?

The home office aren't advising avoiding travel to Spain, so unless your DH has other information we aren't party to, I'm afraid he's probably being hysterical. Enjoy your holiday Smile

Lweji · 07/08/2016 11:14

Go and if you're worried use insect repellent.

It's not likely that Spain will get many infected people in, unlike Florida, ao the risk is still low.

Original poster
deemee · 07/08/2016 11:16

I'll be 17 weeks when we travel
He argues Home office also didn't Advice against travel to Florida until confirmed cases,which was too late for many

OP posts:
Afreshstartplease · 07/08/2016 11:22

I went to Spain in June

I was bitten and around 20 weeks pregnant

Consultant at the hospital fully dismissed my concerns said that it was currently being blown out of proportion by the media

I was bitten on the one occasion I went out without jungle formula on, I would say if your going take some of that

Hulababy · 07/08/2016 11:23

Even the Florida risk is primarily limited to just one area of Florida, not the whole of the state.

Would insurance cover it or would you lose all the money?

What is the real risk of Zika arriving and transmitted within the country rather than only in people who have travelled to known Zika areas?

There is Zika in the UK but only from people who have travelled to known Zika areas.

PotteringAlong · 07/08/2016 11:42

But only 6 people out of a population of 20 million have contracted zika without travelling. Working on the fact that the odds that you will be killed by a piece of aircraft debris falling out of the sky are 1 in 10 million then it's not really a risk.

PotteringAlong · 07/08/2016 11:43

*in florida

PotteringAlong · 07/08/2016 11:44

Actually, a quick Google tells me the odds of dying in a plane crash are 1 in 11 million. You've almost more chance of never making it to Spain alive than you have of contracting Zika whilst you're there.

Original poster
deemee · 07/08/2016 12:00
Grin
OP posts:
Lweji · 07/08/2016 12:03

Btw, tell him to put on the insect repellent too, or no sex for 6 months (ball park figure). Just in case, you know, as he's so careful.

wm3010 · 07/08/2016 16:36

We are heading to the south of France in 3 weeks' time when I will be 16 weeks pg. The risks there are the same. Have been thinking about cancelling since I found out I was pg. Have decided that I will go and just load up with mozzie spray as I am also a bit of a magnet. DH is being made to use loads too since men can transfer it to women through sex. Yes zika could arrive at any time but the odds of it are small and the odds of it being actively transmitted in the particular area of France we are going to in the 10 days we are there are even smaller.

PS plug in mozzie repellents are not recommended for pregnancy sadly.

SpinALittleFaster · 07/08/2016 16:37

Personally I wouldn't risk going anywhere that has the mosquitos which can carry zika. All it takes is for one person who has been infected elsewhere to be bitten and suddenly people can be infected locally. The effects of the virus are catastrophic and I'd definitely err on the side of caution with this.

If you do go then remember that you both need to be well protected from mosquitos.

ineedwine99 · 07/08/2016 16:40

Can you change location so you still get a holiday but your OH doesn't have the worry? That's what we did when we went away, travel agent was great about it

wm3010 · 07/08/2016 20:13

As I understand it, France and Spain don't have the mosquito that usually carries zika, they have another one that may also be able to carry it. That's why they are classed as medium rather than high risk.

OhtoblazeswithElvira · 07/08/2016 20:16

The mosquito that carries Zika cannot and does not live in Spain.