Anyone concerned about the "mosquito" talk?

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I just saw that they think it could cause Alzheimer's like symptoms and they don't know how long that might last. We have a trip to Uni planned this fall. I haven't been concerned at all since we aren't planning any more kids. But my husband has a weakened immune system and his aunt has had Gillian-barre so I'll be watching things closer. I'm not ready to postpone yet, just wait and see, I guess. It seems too unknown at this point and it hasn't spread beyond Miami yet so I'm not overly concerned. Just watching it.

 

[tobikaye]

My trip is not until January, so hopefully the mosquito threat will not be as great. I figure that if it is like the last few years, there could be a cold snap to help. I am not worried for myself. If my sister was going with me, then I would probably be a bit more concerned. Some of her medicines suppress her immune system and cause illnesses to last longer. I doubt I would cancel if she was going, but I would be more vigilant about her using bug spray and having light weight clothes that covered arms and legs to limit exposure.

 

[pmaurer74]

one of the members of our group going in December is to delay getting pregnant until after the trip, however I am concerned about longer than that. Her MIL is a nurse and not too concerned but to wear bug spray. Zika will likely eventually affect half the US within the next few years. I hope they find something that works against it before it does spread.

 

[yulilin3]

It seems that although the majority of the concern over Zika is geared toward pregnant or potentially/future pregnant folks, there has also been some potential concern voiced for the general population as well. I've seen this presented specifically regarding those with weakened immunity (or that it weakens immunity?), potential future mental health concerns, guillain-barre syndrome, and all the general "unknowns" regarding the disease. I'm curious what people are thinking about these general population concerns... do you think they have merit? Our family is planning to travel to Disney in December and I am trying to process this through the lens of how it impacts our children. I don't want to be an alarmist, yet I also don't want to dismiss potential health threats for them with Zika. Please share your perspective! Anyone concerned about this for you/your family? Enough so to consider postponing? I realize that these are personal/family choices based on what people think is best for them... no judgement of others, just your thoughts . Thanks!!

My entire family and I live here in Orlando and we are not concerned. Also Disney has some of the best mosquito prevention programs out there. But it is a personal choice to come visit or not

 

[Disneylover99]

Concerned? Sure. We don't want to get bit. But at this point we're not considering cancelling our December trip.
We were there in August and I did get two mosquito bites at our DW resort.

 

[jkh36619]

I'm more concerned about all of the poison they are spraying. Now I see they are using planes to deploy it.

 

[CAS239]

No concern at all. Down here, aside from the news, you don't hear talk about Zika. It's not a big outbreak, only a handful of people out of millions and millions have been affected. Your chances are getting Zika are very minuscule.

Not to mention they have a great pest control team at Disney. It's rare when I see a mosquito there

 

[CAS239]

I'm more concerned about all of the poison they are spraying. Now I see they are using planes to deploy it.

Planes, helicopters, trucks..that's the norm in how they spray for mosquitos

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

it hasn't spread beyond Miami yet so I'm not overly concerned.

The Gov announced on Aug 23 that Pinellas County had is first confirmed case of locally-transmitted Zika.

 

[Missyrose]

I'm more concerned about all of the poison they are spraying. Now I see they are using planes to deploy it.

That's not new.

 

[NeuroCindy]

I'm concerned about Zika the same way I'm concerned about West Nile, Chikungunya, or Yellow fever. Which is to say, barely at all (and I've had West Nile). If I had gotten mosquito bites and felt really bad, I'd get checked out, because any of those (plus a ton more) can cause meningitis or encephalitis.

 

[DrunkJam]

My husband has Leukaemia, and has been told that one of the things that Zika causes, is reduced immunity.
ALSO, that he should NOT use DEET (and nor should any of us, his immediate family)
He CAN use other repellant, like picaridin, which has been shown to be effective.
There are reports of alzheimer's like symptoms, MH issues and other things being a result of zika infection. So it is clearly worth a thought.
For us, we got married in WDW, and want to go back with BOTH the children, while he is still well enough to do so. His consultant advised that it was safe AS LONG AS we ALL take appropriate precautions, for Zika and other things (and have scullions of dollars of insurance, but that's another matter) he can't exactly postpone so...

it does worry me when I hear people brush off the risks if they are not pregnant or considering getting pregnant. There are risks, not necessarily to cause cancelling trips, but definitely to be aware of and act with all the knowledge available to you.

 

[jalpert]

My 2 cents...

-Your doctors opinion regarding your travel plans to Florida are meaningless. Learn the risks, make up your mind. As long as you are educated and you understand what could happen, what might happen etc, your doctor doesn't know anything more than you do.

-The first local transmission of Zika was being widely reported by mainstream media 7/29/2016. In 40 days (from 7/29 - 9/7) we went from 0 to 43 locally transmitted Zika infections per the CDC. That is about 1 new case a day, as of right now this thing is spreading extremely slowly. A little over 400,000 people live in the Miami area.

-As of right now, there are zero cases of locally transmitted mosquitos in Orlando. Even if one popped up today, at the rate it's spreading in Miami, it would take 59 years to be one of the 10% in Orlando that has contracted Zika. However, you're at Disney and in an area where pest control is better than average, so theoretically your odds of transmission are less than average. Also, you are only in town a very limited amount of time compared to residents. (1 new case every .93 days, 10% of the population of Orlando is 23,250, 59.24 years until 23,250 contract Zika in Orlando.) Of course, this assumes the rate of infections don't get worse, but for those of you going in the short term, next few months even, things are extremely safe.

-There are some reports that say Zika can contribute to memory issues based on tests with mice. Almost anything "can" happen, I'm not sure under what circumstances they found this to be true. It could be the circumstances were unrealistic for humans, maybe not. We just have to take stuff like this with a grain of salt until we have all the facts.


Lot's of people want to stay away from Orlando, and that's 100% fine. People who are worried about Zika shouldn't go, even if there is no threat, they will be worried and that will negatively affect their trip.

From my point of view, we should all be running down to Disney World while it's still safe. Who knows what it could be like in 6 months

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

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.

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/l...cdill-air-force-base-confirms-zika-virus-case

98.5% of cases in the US were infected outside of the US (not locally acquired). It seems strange that after all this time that this would make headline news.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

It seems that although the majority of the concern over Zika is geared toward pregnant or potentially/future pregnant folks, there has also been some potential concern voiced for the general population as well. I've seen this presented specifically regarding those with weakened immunity (or that it weakens immunity?), potential future mental health concerns, guillain-barre syndrome, and all the general "unknowns" regarding the disease. I'm curious what people are thinking about these general population concerns... do you think they have merit? Our family is planning to travel to Disney in December and I am trying to process this through the lens of how it impacts our children. I don't want to be an alarmist, yet I also don't want to dismiss potential health threats for them with Zika. Please share your perspective! Anyone concerned about this for you/your family? Enough so to consider postponing? I realize that these are personal/family choices based on what people think is best for them... no judgement of others, just your thoughts . Thanks!!

My thoughts on the main article in question (http://www.cell.com/cell-stem-cell/pdf/S1934-5909(16)30252-1.pdf) are on p17.
Otherwise a pubmed search really doesn't have enough good scientific articles to support any major alarm for complications in adults - not moreso than any other disease.

As we had a reminder just a couple pages back that Brazil has stated that Zika infection is not the sole reason for the surge in microcephaly cases, here's an article to support that:
http://www.nature.com/news/brazil-asks-whether-zika-acts-alone-to-cause-birth-defects-1.20309

I haven't seen/heard one single news article since the Olympics about an increase in cases (or one single case) due to travel to Brazil. I recognize the Paralympic games are currently happening and that the incubation period is up to 12 days but the media silence thus far is deafening.

 

[teddygurl28]

Just wanted to report back how I felt down there since I was 24 weeks pregnant last week there. I brought 2 kinds of spray, wipes and bracelets. I never noticed any mosquitos at the park. I applied spray when I went to the parks at night. Disney had stations all over and spray in the room. I did notice some on my balcony at BLT so I took. 2 bracelets and put them on the handles to the balcony. Never saw any there again. I was not overly concerned when I left and I am glad I went and didn't feel uncomfortable at all