Zika Impact

[21stamps]

You could always purchase something like this if you're overly concerned.

http://www.skeeta.biz/skeeta-mosquito-netting-no-see-um-netting-bug-suits.html

That is awesome. If anyone currently in Florida sees someone walking around in one of these, please let us know. Hopefully the hysteria will never reach that level...but crazier things have happened!

 

[King Panda 77]

You could always purchase something like this if you're overly concerned.

http://www.skeeta.biz/skeeta-mosquito-netting-no-see-um-netting-bug-suits.html

Am waiting for the first non phototshopped pic of someone at WDW in one of these . You know it will happen.

 

[King Panda 77]

Or one of these

Protects from mozzies and biting Puerto Ricans !

 

[21stamps]

Or one of these
View attachment 154136
Protects from mozzies and biting Puerto Ricans !

Have you had issues with getting bitten by Puerto Ricans in the past?lol

 

[King Panda 77]

Have you had issues with getting bitten by Puerto Ricans in the past?lol

No comment

 

[21stamps]

No comment

....and the mystery continues....

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Thats all good up until the point you have Tex Mex or turkey legs for lunch.

 

[SorcererMC]

The "article" I posted was direct from a UK government site. A government alert/warning is the only one that should be taken seriously...and even with those you read them thoroughly, and decide if what you're doing is actually dangerous.

It's a good example of why public awareness matters. The CDC has to walk that line as well, warning about the actual risk without inflating it. The CDC was criticized by the local Chamber of Commerce during the 2010 FL Keys dengue outbreak (n =63 cases) for not providing enough context for the threat, as businesses were being affected. That's the potential problem with saying 'check the CDC'. To that end, I recommend getting information/ second opinions from other health authorities such as HHS, NIAID, and FL Dept of Health at the County level; for individuals to be aware of the nature of the threat and to be able to assess their own risk.

 

[21stamps]

It's a good example of why public awareness matters. The CDC has to walk that line as well, warning about the actual risk without inflating it. The CDC was criticized by the local Chamber of Commerce during the 2010 FL Keys dengue outbreak (n =63 cases) for not providing enough context for the threat, as businesses were being affected. That's the potential problem with saying 'check the CDC'. To that end, I recommend getting information/ second opinions from other health authorities such as HHS, NIAID, and FL Dept of Health at the County level; for individuals to be aware of the nature of the threat and to be able to assess their own risk.

The state of Florida website and county website should be checked when people travel there for sure, these will provide all of the info you need, and link to other sites if the cause is there.

The CDC would be the last place I checked actually...I hope others would do the same. Not even just with Zika, just for any problems/alerts. Would be crazy to schedule a vacation and not know if there was an issue where you were going! The CDC won't give you water warnings, weather warnings, etc.

 

[seabreezept813]

Yes, but only through certain means. So if Husband travels to South Beach sans Wife..once he returns home then they should put off active baby making techniques for a month or so..or take certain precautions. This is tough to say without being graphic lol.

That's what is happening now, it is spreading via people, but there are very limited ways that it can be spread...so luckily we will not have another quarantine scenario.

3-6 months is actually the recommendation. My doctors told me they have a general understanding of its effect on women, but they are clueless as to how long the virus lives in men. That's what I think is freaking the medical community out..

 

[SorcererMC]

This. My husband and I are going in 6 weeks. We have no plans of reproducing in the near future, but accidents happen even when all precautions are taken. And if they aren't quite sure how long the virus lives in men, who's to say how long we have to wait for the coast to be clear, so to speak?

The thing with zika is that if I were to get it (or my husband gets it), and then I get pregnant accidentally, it's not my life I'm putting in danger...it's a child's life. So yes, west nile virus is scary, malaria is scary, blah blah blah, but zika is absolutely TERRIFYING to me. At this point, the risk level isn't high enough for me to not go to Disney in 6 weeks, because I will take whatever precautions are necessary to try and avoid an unpleasant outcome....but a lot can happen in 6 weeks. Miami and Orlando aren't that far apart.

Yes - you've described quite well why 3-6 months is disconcerting, and might seem excessive but in fact is erring on the side of caution given that 1. a male/female individual in a state or traveling to a state where local transmission is likely (FL,TX,GA,AL, MS,LA) may not know if they have been infected, it depends on precautions 2. a large portion of pregnancies are unplanned (~40%-50%), very few are accidental 3. many women themselves don't know that they are pregnant well into the first trimester, which is also when Zika can cause the worst effects.

The Miami cluster will probably remain isolated. There might be an uptick in infections as they are detected, but this summer or the next 6-8 weeks (or even the next few months?), it probably isn't an issue for travel to Disney. (Edit: my personal opinion, as always, individuals should make their own choices according to their own needs and comfort level).

 

[Matt_Black]

Don't apologize there is lots of money to be made on a zika scare. Media is first to strike,nothing like a good scare to build up your viewers. Politicians are second wanting more funds to fight misquotes, of course no one will keep good track of the money. Universities are up next, can you say research grants? Etc. etc.

Hey, the CDC does a lot of good in this country, and they are one government agency I have no problem with getting more money (NASA of course is another).

 

[SorcererMC]

Don't apologize there is lots of money to be made on a zika scare. Media is first to strike,nothing like a good scare to build up your viewers. Politicians are second wanting more funds to fight misquotes, of course no one will keep good track of the money. Universities are up next, can you say research grants? Etc. etc.

There's not as much money in it as one might think. Public health budgets have been slashed (or raided by Congress) since the 2008 meltdown, and Congress has yet to open the taps (which is a shame b/c prevention against Zika is so important, a lot of the money goes towards mosquito control and kits for the public). Universities aren't likely to get much more than they get already. But the media loves those clicks!

Edit: re: link-crazy, it is b/c I don't expect people to take my word as a random person on an internet forum 'as gospel', but I do know where to find the right information. I know that a lot of people reading these forums serve as a point person on WDW vacation planning.

 

[Matt_Black]

There's not as much money in it as one might think. Public health budgets have been slashed (or raided by Congress) since the 2008 meltdown, and Congress has yet to open the taps (which is a shame b/c prevention against Zika is so important, a lot of the money goes towards mosquito control and kits for the public). Universities aren't likely to get much more than they get already. But the media loves those clicks!

We do find plenty of money for defense contractors and corporate subsidies, though, so... yay?

 

[SorcererMC]

We do find plenty of money for defense contractors and corporate subsidies, though, so... yay?

Actually DoD does quite a bit of disease research, ie AMRIID. There is a lot of overlap between infectious disease and biodefense (since the 2001 anthrax attacks), but it's quite low on the totem pole. I'll just say that the US has a vast, complicated network or apparatus of local, state, and federal agencies tasked with handling the research and emergency management response for situations like Zika. And CoreyP is right in that not all of it is money well spent.

 

[21stamps]

The CDC is doing what they should, that's their whole job. It's not them who will be gunning for money. Maybe they might needs some more funding but it's the local guys who will be gunning for more money not them.

I was down in Cape Carnival a few weeks ago, wife knows the chef there and Space X is keeping that place busy, many launches. Not sure if Space X hired a bunch of ex NASA people but the pirate sector is really busy in the space industry right now. NASA is the highest priced option for space anything, they should stick to pure research stuff and let private industry take over manned space flights etc. I know many people want to see a Mars mission but I don't see the purpose at all except to light taxpayer money on fire. If private industry can get someone to Mars then good luck hope they do. To get anywhere off this planet the private sector needs to be the one to figure out how to do it economically. That's not a dream at the moment.

Space X is trying and succeeding to bring down the price of heavy lift rocket launches. If they can get the reusable rockets to work they will cut the price tag even more. Space X is also working on a lower cost space shuttle. The NASA version was way way higher costs then they ever thought and it's safety record was terrible. Too many shuttle blew up.

Bigelow is working on collapsible space habitats which will lower costs a huge amount over launching hard capsules.
https://bigelowaerospace.com/

Sir Richard is working on a cheap way to get people into space. He has run into trouble but I like his concept, I'm sure the end game isn't small tourist shots into space but that's where he is starting.
http://www.virgingalactic.com/

Put those three together and a space station in orbit could be built and normal people could actually afford to go to. Easy shot to the moon from there. Get that all working and maybe Mars.

I keep up on that stuff and there are others involved. This is WDW forum so no need to go into a long rant about the space. In the end NASA is not really needed except for pure research stuff, private industry is much better at getting anything done compared to government agencies.

I just wanted to say this after reading your comment.
NASA has been actively training and planning for Mars. They will make it.

Ok.. Carry on with the Zika stuff.

 

[SorcererMC]

it's the local guys who will be gunning for more money not them.

This leads to a point I really want to make, in that funding is not necessarily allocated to counties depending on their risk level, it often depends on the local politicians ability to get that funding and special tax abatements. Miami, for example, has 12-15 mosquito control experts for an area of 2,000 sq miles, and for Zika it means going house-to-house and getting homeowner's permission to set traps and comb the grounds for mosquitoes in the low places they like to hide and areas of standing water where they breed, eg in plants like bromeliads.

 

[Matt_Black]

The CDC is doing what they should, that's their whole job. It's not them who will be gunning for money. Maybe they might needs some more funding but it's the local guys who will be gunning for more money not them.

I was down in Cape Carnival a few weeks ago, wife knows the chef there and Space X is keeping that place busy, many launches. Not sure if Space X hired a bunch of ex NASA people but the pirate sector is really busy in the space industry right now. NASA is the highest priced option for space anything, they should stick to pure research stuff and let private industry take over manned space flights etc. I know many people want to see a Mars mission but I don't see the purpose at all except to light taxpayer money on fire. If private industry can get someone to Mars then good luck hope they do. To get anywhere off this planet the private sector needs to be the one to figure out how to do it economically. That's not a dream at the moment.

Space X is trying and succeeding to bring down the price of heavy lift rocket launches. If they can get the reusable rockets to work they will cut the price tag even more. Space X is also working on a lower cost space shuttle. The NASA version was way way higher costs then they ever thought and it's safety record was terrible. Too many shuttle blew up.

Bigelow is working on collapsible space habitats which will lower costs a huge amount over launching hard capsules.
https://bigelowaerospace.com/

Sir Richard is working on a cheap way to get people into space. He has run into trouble but I like his concept, I'm sure the end game isn't small tourist shots into space but that's where he is starting.
http://www.virgingalactic.com/

Put those three together and a space station in orbit could be built and normal people could actually afford to go to. Easy shot to the moon from there. Get that all working and maybe Mars.

I keep up on that stuff and there are others involved. This is WDW forum so no need to go into a long rant about the space. In the end NASA is not really needed except for pure research stuff, private industry is much better at getting anything done compared to government agencies.

Hey, as long as SOMEONE is sciencing the out of stuff in case of asteroids and meteors, then I'm cool.

 

[DisneyDaver]

My wife and I have plans to take our 1.5 year old daughter to WDW for her first time in November. We also plan to start trying for baby #2 in January. We are still planning to make the trip to Orlando, but I confess the recent suspected cases of local transmission of Zika in the Miami area has us a slight bit anxious. I get why most say it's not a big deal and the risk is very low, but when the consequences of a negative outcome are so severe to a child, it's hard not to contemplate whether it's worth going until our family is complete.

 

[gljvd]

Apparently there are thousands of different types of mosquitos and only a few dozen that actually feed on humans. There was a program in one country to release barren mosquitos into the wild so that when fertile ones mated with them nothing would happen. Doing that over the course of multiple years would cause the mosquito to go exstinct .

as for me I use that off fan and I spray my legs and arms when I go running