Cancelling Trip Due to Zika

[MrsDuck]

DH and I are hoping to get pregnant in December. We live in South Florida. Of course, I'm worried about Zika but it's not stopping us from living our lives, etc. We are using repellent anytime we are outside. Perhaps it's just my mindset living here but I wouldn't cancel my trip.

 

[ElenaRN]

My BFF just cancelled her Oct trip. She would be 5 months at the time and high risk. She just didn't want to worry.

 

[Mousemommy1]

I am so glad I am all done having children. This would stress me out so badly (I am a worrier by nature) and it would make me so sad to cancel my trip. But, I know I probably would, because even if I didn't get Zika - the worry I would have during the pregnancy and until the baby came would kill me.

 

[frodoandmax]

EEK I should probably stay away from these boards as they just seem to cause worry!
But I try to stay on top of what is happening with Zika and thus look at these disney boards because I am currently pregnant and have a Disney trip planned for mid October. I will be 21-22 weeks when we go on our trip. As of now there's no Zika in Orlando or Disney so no reason to cancel. In fact, I feel like Disney may be one of the safest places in Florida because they already had a mosquito control program in place, and have just worked harder on it.
I am a physician, my best friend is an Ob/gyn, and of course I've talked to my Ob/Gyn and they are ok with me going as of now. If zika is found at Disney that would be a different story and we would cancel, but at this point we fully plan on going and just wear lots of bug spray. And I probably won't go to the water park like I originally intended.
I don't think this makes me a horrible parent, and like other's have said, it's a very personal decision. There are lots of things we do every day or medicines we take that it might be someone else's opinion that they could be harmful to yourself or unborn baby, but you have to make an informed decision about what's right for you.

My opinion is always to trust the experts. I trust my doctor, I trust the scientists at the CDC. I trust my good friend who works at NIH. He says the CDC is generally very conservative when it comes to their travel advisories. So if they thought there was a risk of travel to any city in FL, they would advise against it. You know the only "experts" I don't trust? The media. It's definitely hard not to bc it's so in your face, but I am trying to make myself only listen to doctors and scientists, rather than people on the internet and social media.

With my trip, I am prepared to cancel the day before we go if I have to. At this point though, I see no reason to cancel. Luckily you have plenty of time before November for new news and updates

 

[Pumbaa_]

by the time it is actually confirmed and reported, the virus would already be in place

as you say, it is a very personal choice

 

[roseaster]

My husband is a neurologist. Not to totally freak everyone, but they are also finding various long lasting neurological affects in adults who have contracted the Zika virus. Guillian-Barre syndrome, encephalitis, alzheimer's -like effects, and MS like effects.

I think, and this is personal opinion, that they don't know all they need to know or enough about this disease as it is fairly recent to the US. If they are recently making these findings in adults there may be more affects on the fetus that they don't know about. To me, even a miniscule risk wouldn't be worth it.

Also take that with a grain of salt because I just had a baby in March after a very difficult and complicated pregnancy where losing my baby (she is very well, BTW) was a real possibility, so I wouldn't ever be one to take a risk.

There are lots of other vacation spots available.

 

[DrunkJam]

My husband is a neurologist. Not to totally freak everyone, but they are also finding various long lasting neurological affects in adults who have contracted the Zika virus. Guillian-Barre syndrome, encephalitis, alzheimer's -like effects, and MS like effects.

I think, and this is personal opinion, that they don't know all they need to know or enough about this disease as it is fairly recent to the US. If they are recently making these findings in adults there may be more affects on the fetus that they don't know about. To me, even a miniscule risk wouldn't be worth it.

Also take that with a grain of salt because I just had a baby in March after a very difficult and complicated pregnancy where losing my baby (she is very well, BTW) was a real possibility, so I wouldn't ever be one to take a risk.

There are lots of other vacation spots available.

yes, this. It really is not just pregnant women or those considering becoming pregnant who need to think about this.
There is a lot of information coming out about the neurological affects being discovered.
MY husbands oncology consultant also told us that even if you don't feel very ill if you catch zika, it can really lower your immunity.
We are advised that, for us, repellant, and other precautions should be sufficient, given the nature of our trip. But, there are a lot of things to think about.

 

[NinaBella]

Didn't read the whole tread but there is a case in Tampa now from MacDill AFB. The military hospital confirmed a case from someone who traveled overseas in July. They are not releasing if the person is military, civilian, or what county they live in. Some people do commute to MacDill from the Orlando and Lakeland area. A few of my co-workers did.

 

[SMorgan711]

So what about people who live in Orlando? Are they being discouraged against getting pregnant?

No. I live right behind the MK and so far there have been no confirmed cases of the Zika here that happened directly from a mosquito. My husband works outside and he wears bug spray as a precaution but more so for all bugs. As far as I'm aware, all cases received directly from mosquitoes are still from Miami. I would think it would be all over our news if that was the case. I think Disney is just trying to be proactive and cautiouso.

 

[Sagginit]

by the time it is actually confirmed and reported, the virus would already be in place

as you say, it is a very personal choice

This is my doctor's concern. The whole reason I booked WDW was because I'm a celiac and have a hard time booking a vacation in a location where there are plenty of safe dining options. Considering all the testing I have had done up until this point to monitor the pregnancy I felt very silly trying to explain to her why I thought it was safe to take the risk just to go on vacation. I'm still sad about it but if anything did happen it would be a regret I would have to live with for the rest of my life. I also have a fear as someone else mentioned that there may be more long term effects than they know. I saw this research they did in primates where they infected pregnant ones with Zika. They found it stayed in their system and they fought it off for months as your immune system is lowered when you are pregnant. Baby aside the thought of being sick with a virus for the rest of my pregnancy is less than a pleasant thought. I won't eat a list of foods for fear of temporary food poisoning so I chalk this up to just one more thing I had to add to the "don'ts list" (ok a HUGE one for me, but never the less I added it on eventually). I can honestly understand with a lot of it being speculation why many are still comfortable going.

The good news is for those of you who are not concerned with Zika for pregnancy reasons they may have some more rooms/discounts available with everyone canceling.

 

[Veronique]

This is a personal decision, but I always put "risks" in perspective. Did you know you have something close to a 1 in 3000 chance of being in a car accident everytime you take your car? Such an accident could very well permanently harm a pregnant women or fœtus. I'm pretty sure no one stops driving because they are pregnant. There is probably hundreds of things pregnant womens do that are more risky then going to Florida right now.

Would I risk it if I was pregnant? Well I would definetly follow the CDC advices.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

I'm an extremely risk averse person, but I also like to keep things in perspective. All of the following be said, if they found locally transmitted Zika basically anywhere in Florida outside of Miami at this point, I would cancel my trip that is 3 weeks away. I'll be 25 weeks pregnant at the time. I have also been researching Zika like a maniac since I got pregnant, even before this trip was planned, because I knew it was possible that it could reach my hometown. At this point, I still feel comfortable going to WDW...but I am also comfortable with cancelling my trip the day before I go in case things change. I also totally understand those people who are canceling. For those of you still going who may be a little nervous, think about this.

The total # of locally transmitted Zika cases in Miami-Dade county is 56. (I check the FL Dept of Health's website daily...) Let's multiply that by 5 since only about 1 in 5 people infected with Zika show symptoms. Let's add another 200 people to that number for people who may have been sick but didn't go to the doctor or get tested. That would mean that roughly 480 people in Miami-Dade County would have been infected. Let's round that up to 500. The population of Miami-Dade county is about 2 million. 500 out of 2 million is .025%. It's a very small number. As a pregnant woman, I would not travel to Miami-Dade county, or really any of the surrounding counties, but it does help to understand why the CDC's travel recommendations cover such a specific and small area of South Florida. And it does make me less fearful of Zika in general. Like my doctor said - we have lots of travel related cases in Washington, DC (where I live and work), but no locally transmitted cases yet. We have the mosquitoes here that are capable of carrying Zika, so local transmission is possible here at any time. Because of that, I am just as careful going outside at home as I will be in Walt Disney World, but I am not overly fearful due to the overwhelming odds of actually catching the virus...at this point. Things could change at any time.

 

[Pumbaa_]

The risk is low, no one disagrees w that

The question is what if you were one of the 56 and pregnant? The folks canceling just don't think it is worth a risk with any odds. This is a case of better safe than sorry, the consequences could be devastating

 

[roseaster]

The risk is low, no one disagrees w that

The question is what if you were one of the 56 and pregnant? The folks canceling just don't think it is worth a risk with any odds. This is a case of better safe than sorry, the consequences could be devastating

This. If I weren't pregnant or trying to get pregnant, or planned to get pregnant following the vacation, I would definitely still go. Again, having just had a high risk pregnancy and all the anxiety and medical problems that went with it I would not willingly take on any reasonably avoidable risk to a pregnancy. Maybe my experience makes me more cautious in this regard.

I am not usually an overly cautious or anxious person, but this experience just made me really think about this. I had 4 pregnancies prior to this one that were a breeze. Really, 90% of the women on here would hate me for them. Prior to this pregnancy I would have gone if I were out of my 1st trimester, but this experience, and having serious worries about losing a baby or having a baby with serious medical issues has really opened my eyes.

My personal opinion is, at this point, we don't know enough and I wouldn't risk it just in case there is something we don't know that could affect my child.

I would plan a vacation to a lower risk area or skip vacation for that year.

 

[princessallegra]

It's so important that in pregnancy, as always, we follow our gut (as well as consult with our care provider). We are leaving tomorrow morning for WDW. I just saw my OB yesterday, he said Orlando is not a concern, and to have fun. We are in NY, just outside Manhattan. I'll be 17 weeks on Monday. We are excited! Our girl is turning 3 in two weeks. We were not pregnant when we planned the trip. From the beginning my practice wasn't alarmed. Anyway, My friend just got back, she said there were barely any mosquitos. They must be spraying like crazy! Everyone should do what they feel comfortable with, bottom line.

 

[bab736]

I was about 6 weeks pregnant when I traveled to the first areas in Miami where local transmitted cases were identified. That was in March and the cases came out in July. DH traveled to that area in June. We live in South Florida. I feel pretty lucky that we've had a lot of ultrasounds and growth has been right on track.

I do feel that (for better or for worse) FL is really adamant about mosquito control so I've seen/felt a lot less mosquitos here than when we lived in TX. But I'm using repellant, wearing long linen pants outside (and spraying clothes too if I'm out for more than a minute). I'm not worried now but I would be if I were in my first tri or TTC.

Also, the species of mosquito that can carry the disease is more likely to be out and biting during the day (vs the kind that usually just come out at dusk). So please be prepared with repellant throughout the day, not just near stagnant water or in the evenings.

 

[Stepman]

Well.......This sucks......Cancelling my trip. We went to the Doctor's for the first time on Tuesday and they said absolutely not. This was the doc that I thought would give us the okay too. Sucks but we'll planning on going moving our reservations to the same time next year.

 

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

Thanks for that DizneyLizzy,


What are your guys opinion?

If you really want to know what I think, as someone who is pregnant right now, I would not go . There is no consensus on ZIKA only being dangerous during the first trimester. Do I think it's worse during the first trimester when the neural tube is forming? Yes, I do, but I am not a doctor therefore I personally would not go to FLA while pregnant at this time. And I don't even know if the doctors actually know yet. No matter what trimester.

 

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

Well.......This sucks......Cancelling my trip. We went to the Doctor's for the first time on Tuesday and they said absolutely not. This was the doc that I thought would give us the okay too. Sucks but we'll planning on going moving our reservations to the same time next year.

I just read this after my reply to an earlier post of yours. I think you did the safest thing. Disney will always be there. A baby with a lifelong medical condition is not worth risking.

 

[Kbendig]

A year ago I had twins, one baby had severe birth defects that were not compatible with life. Watching your baby die is nothing I would wish on anyone. Had he lived, he would have spent most to all of his life in the hospital or attached to tubes. I also lost twin boys 5 years ago, again, nothing I would wish on anyone.
Would I go if pregnant? Yes.
But here is the thing, and it's something I learned during my last pregnancy and I truly believe, you need to do whatever you would regret the least. Every decision we had to make regarding my pregnancy we considered whether or not we could live with the results. I made decisions others would never agree with, but I am comfortable with them.
If you feel like you would regret going and wonder if the baby is ok (even other medical issues, would you wonder?) then don't go. What-if's will kill you. I am comfortable with Disney's control of mosquitoes and I would use bug spray on top of it.

We were just there, and a few days in tables were set up with bug spray. I forgot ours at home, and my son is allergic to a chemical in the kind they had, but I remember seeing it and thinking how we had no bites.

If you choose to go, have fun!
If you choose not to go, then your baby will have a great first trip when you reschedule!