Zika virus help

[cflower]

My partner and I want to start trying for a baby next month. We have recently returned from a 2 week holiday in St Lucia we don’t think either of us were bitten whilst there. By the time we try, it would have been 6/7 weeks since we would have returned home to the UK. Do you think it’s ok to try next month or would you wait the full 3 months as advised?

Wait the three months.

Wait. It’s not worth the risk

Wait the extra month. Honestly the worry you would have if you fell pregnant straight away isn't worth it.

It will be worth the extra few weeks of waiting for peace of mind.

Thanks all. Has anyone had a test privately? Also please note the last reported Zika case was in 2017 in St Lucia.

Honestly it’s just a few weeks what is the rush?

Either test privately or wait I'd say. I thought it was 3 months for men and 6 months for women though?

100% wait. The effects of the Zika virus on babies can be devastating and if it turned out baby was affected after not waiting for just a few extra weeks, I would never be able to forgive myself personally. Have a look at microcephaly on YouTube (which is what Zika can cause in babies), hopefully that will help you decide what’s best for you and your partner.

I was living in Brazil when Zika first became known. The number of babies with microcephaly was astounding and it took a lot of mothers by surprise because they hadn't been sick. I saw one on tv who vaguely remembered a rash at some point.
So, Brazil is the leading researcher when it comes to the Aedes Aegypti (that's the mosquito) and I got this information from here in Portuguese (revistacrescer.globo.com/Voce-precisa-saber/noticia/2016/04/zika-quando-engravidar.html) and translated it for you (this a reliable source btw):

• 
  Infected men and women must wait a minimum of 2 months before TTC.


• For infected men the wait is longer, they should wait 6 months. Zika stays in the semen for 62 days and researchers trebbed that number to reach a safe estimate. It is yet unkown whether the virus can stay in the semen for longer.


• You can get infected from sex.

What's important is that this is for infected people. Some people have symptoms, some don't.
It usually takes about 10 days to get symptoms after infection (I remember this but don't know where I got it tbh).
So wait for a couple of weeks, both of you get tested and start TTC.

Thanks for the advice going to wait

I personally think this is the right thing to do.

My hubby is off to India and we are both devastated to see no sex for 3 months.

But I don't understand - do people in India just take a huge gamble to have a baby? I mean there's a huge population there...

I had no idea Zika was now a worry in India. Zika started in Brazil, along with all 4 or 5 types of Dengue and Chikungunya Fever. At the time there were also a few cases of Yellow Fever (vaccine available for this one) and all these viruses come from the pesky Aedes Aegypti.
If this mosquito is that prevalent in India you should, without a doubt, be careful but I don't think it means not having sex for 3 months, just no TTC for a while!
At the end of the day he can always get tested -maybe a PCR test- a couple of weeks after he comes back and then you can get going.

Yes we didnt know either it was only because it's on the leaflet that he brought home from his vaccinations with. It states contraception for 3 months after but online it states if pregnant contraception for full term of pregnancy.
Yeah I suppose we will have to buy condoms to tide us over but it's a shame to have to do that for so many reasons.
So clearly it is transmitted via bodily fluids...so what about snogging? It's not metioned but surely must be a risk also...

The risk comes only from semen. There was a case while I was living in Brazil. A guy in the US (Texas I think) gave Zika to his GF and then the doctors found it in his semen. That was the first major case of sexual transmission -it was unkown until then. I haven't heard anything about saliva but I haven't really kept up to date on what's going on over there. The official guidelines online only mention semen.
The biggest risk comes from having a virus and being asymptomatic, so not knowing and giving it to the pregnant partner. I would think he can get tested after a couple of weeks to allow the body time to show symptoms or for the virus to become more detectable and then get a PCR test of sorts to be sure.
Brazilian guidelines -and Brazil's the world's leading expert in this because of the sheer number of cases and because these were first detected there- mention a long wait for infected people. He should talk to an expert in tropical medicine to see whether he can get tested and then you should be free to TTC as long as he's not infected. Just don't risk it before being sure. While I was there it was in the news daily, Zika's the worst one in a way because often people don't know they have it, it's often really mild, like getting a rash and people think it's an allergy of sorts so they don't even go to the doctor. The other ones you're pretty much guaranteed to know you have them.

I was on my honeymoon to Caribbean in November, specifically St.marteen, St.thomas and Bahamas but it was a cruise so sailed too. I conceived while there and when I had my midwife appointment she said I'll need extra scans as I was in Zika countries. I'm now worried sick. I've been trying to research the risk and there's no solid answers. Me and my husband got bitten but we felt well but I know you can have it without symptoms and the consequences for baby are bad. I'm just left now not knowing if we had it and just need to wait and see if baby is affected. Are there any tests we can get to confirm if we be had it? And does anyone know the likelyhood of actually getting it here?

@debbiesumlee Im fairly sure there is a private test you can get, I’ve seen people have it so they can get the go ahead to ttc again! Try not to panic, I’m sure lots of people have been in your situation without knowing zika was a risk and all has been fine xx

@debbiesumlee how are you getting on?

I didn’t find anywhere but my midwife wasn’t overly concerned, I conceived 6 weeks after returning from St Lucia and now I have a healthy baby who is 8 weeks old. I done alot of research the risk of Zika is very low now.

Hi, alright thanks! Baby looks good but they can't rule anything out until she's born. But I'm not worried too much as baby seems perfect so far at 29 weeks. My new issue is I have placenta previa so focused on that now....hoping it moves in next few weeks!