I have an upcoming trip to South America ( Columbia) in the Fall. It is a long weekend to a coastal city. With many athletes pulling out of Rio due to fear of Zika, I am reconsidering going on this trip. Although my wife is not pregnant, we do plan on having kids in the near future. Probably in the next 2 years.
I plan on speaking with my doctor before I go but I'd like to get everyone's opinion. Is this Zika risk for men a valid concern? The details of how long it stays in your system is not clear which scares me. The last thing I want to do is risk my wife or future child's health. What do you guys think?
If you do decide to go, you should have protected sex with your wife until you can see a doctor and get the all clear.
To be honest, I won't feel comfortable until I knew we were done having kids and/or there was a definitive vaccination for it.
First, wear bug spray. Lots of it. Your best bet is to just not contract it. Second -the scary thing is 80% of ppl with Zika show no symptoms, however while not definite (there is a lot the medical community is still figuring out), there is a prevailing opinion that those who show no symptoms might not be able to transmit it sexually. Third, 2 years should be PLENTY of time. When we first discussed it they said 2 months should be fine, now they are saying you might want to wait closer to 6 to be totally safe. Either way just wear bug spray and wait 6 months to conceive and you're fine.
BTW getting tested was a tremendous hassle when the CDC controlled all the tests but my wife was able to get tested and was negative, thankfully.
While early on, all of the males who transmitted Zika to their partner were symptomatic, there have been some reported instances of asymptomatic males passing the virus. So, being asymptomatic is no guarantee.
As an aside, there has been one reported case of female to male transmission.
If you are viremic and have detectable virus in a body fluid (blood, urine, salive, semen), you can transmit the virus to your partner. But *only* through sexual contact (or blood donation). Not finding virus in one fluid, doesn't mean it's not in another. It's pretty common to be negative in blood and positive in urine (or vice versa). Not all commercial labs (and they have only been doing testing for a month or two) test both fluid types. Several only test blood.
If you are male, you usually do not have the virus after 14 days or so. The exception is in semen where the virus has been detected out to 62 days. The recommendation is to practice safe sex for 90 days post-exposure (use post- return from travel as a guide). After that you are good to go forth and procreate.
Pregnant females, interestingly enough, can be viremic for months. The thought is that the virus grows in the fetus and keeps seeding the mother throughout the pregnancy.
Fetuses are most susceptible to birth defects if the mom is infected in the first or second trimester (earlier, the more likely). If exposed in the third trimester, there is a low or even non-existent chance of Zika-induced defects. However, that's just looking at the one major defect, microcephaly. There's no real data on other types of defects that may show up later later.
If you are past the point where you can detect zika virus, you can still be tested to see if you have been previously exposed to the virus. This is a blood test that looks for antibodies that specifically react with Zika virus. If you are a positive in this test, you have been infected, but you *do not* currently have a Zika infection, so long as the direct tests for virus are negative. So, don't confuse a positive test measuring prior exposure with a current infection.
So, bottom line....don't go if you're pregnant. Use a condom for 90 days after you return.
It's still somewhat of a shifting landscape in terms of what is known.
First, wear bug spray. Lots of it. Your best bet is to just not contract it. Second -the scary thing is 80% of ppl with Zika show no symptoms, however while not definite (there is a lot the medical community is still figuring out), there is a prevailing opinion that those who show no symptoms might not be able to transmit it sexually. Third, 2 years should be PLENTY of time. When we first discussed it they said 2 months should be fine, now they are saying you might want to wait closer to 6 to be totally safe. Either way just wear bug spray and wait 6 months to conceive and you're fine.
BTW getting tested was a tremendous hassle when the CDC controlled all the tests but my wife was able to get tested and was negative, thankfully.
What scares me is changing guidelines and the unknown. They seem to be finding more about the virus by the day. I'm not saying we are waiting 2 years to have kids. We haven't decided yet. I worry the guidelines continue to change and the risks to future pregnancies change. Am I being overly cautious? I know a recent young married couple who just went and had no concerns. Regardless, the fear and anxiety over it scares the shit out of me. Is the testing truly accurate in detecting zika?
Colombia? just seems unnecessary - and even the places I mentioned are what I'd consider on the extravagant and unnecessary side for a bachelor party.
What scares me is changing guidelines and the unknown. They seem to be finding more about the virus by the day. I'm not saying we are waiting 2 years to have kids. We haven't decided yet. I worry the guidelines continue to change and the risks to future pregnancies change. Am I being overly cautious? I know a recent young married couple who just went and had no concerns. Regardless, the fear and anxiety over it scares the shit out of me. Is the testing truly accurate in detecting zika?
The most definitive test is a molecular test, called the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test. This test identifies genetic material (RNA) from Zika virus. It is a very specific test and if it comes out positive, you have Zika virus RNA in the sample. They test blood and/or urine; as I mentioned above, one of the other might be positive. They do not test semen (or at least, not unless there are special circumstances, and certainly not in a commercial lab, like Labcorp).
If it's positive, you more than likely have the virus in you still. Technically, you could have genetic remnants and not actual virus, but for all intents and purposes.... If it's negative, you either have non-detectable virus or no virus. If you are more than 14 days or so post-exposure, then it is very unlikely that you will have circulating virus (which is not the same as having it localized to the semen).
The blood test for antibodies that I mentioned above, is reliable but maybe not specific. It really depends. There are similarities between other related viruses and those could read out in the test. So, it is specific for Zika only if it is negative for the other viruses. Commonly, there is reactivity to the related viruses, so the report will say you show exposure to the group of viruses, as opposed to specifically Zika.
The most closely related and commonly cross-reactive virus is Dengue virus. This would not be so much of an issue for you, and if you were to have a positive Zika test you have a better chance of it being specific. But for those who travel a lot to those areas or for those who live there, most people have had past exposure to dengue (a worse disease than Zika, but it doesn't cause birth defects). So, the antibody test has to be read over a high background of Dengue, which confuses things. Less commonly, but still present is some cross-reactivity to West Nile virus, which is something that some people in this area have encountered.
It barely registers as a disease...*unless* you're currently pregnant. You can really reduce potential exposure by dress and repellents. You can all but eliminate any risk of sexual transmission by having safe sex for at least 90 days post-trip. I don't see any of these things as huge barriers to a trip.
In the entire scheme of things, people should have much more fear about seasonal flu. There is much more of a health risk there. And yet, look at all the people who resist getting their annual flu shots. Sorry, but not going to Rio because of Zika and not getting a flu shot is the most back-assward of behavioral choices.
The problem is they turn into "what we did in college and called Friday night". The parties usually end up being insanely expensive no matter where they are. Booze, strippers, hotels, fuel, cabs, golf, etc... In my experience it always adds up to an expensive weekend no matter what the original intentions were.
Colombia? just seems unnecessary - and even the places I mentioned are what I'd consider on the extravagant and unnecessary side for a bachelor party.
I've done AC and Montreal, and that's about my max as far as travel for a BP. I'm not even interested in Vegas, so i'm out on those BP's. My desire to blow a grand or two for a 2-3 day weekend in Vegas is as low as my desire to contract Zika in Colombia.
I've been to two weddings that cost over 200K and both marriages lasted less than 10 years.
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party in a normal place like Vegas, Montreal, New Orleans, South Beach, etc.
Colombia? just seems unnecessary - and even the places I mentioned are what I'd consider on the extravagant and unnecessary side for a bachelor party.
I've done AC and Montreal, and that's about my max as far as travel for a BP. I'm not even interested in Vegas, so i'm out on those BP's. My desire to blow a grand or two for a 2-3 day weekend in Vegas is as low as my desire to contract Zika in Colombia.
Yeah, I probably wouldn't either, just viewed it as a safe alternative.
I was 24 during my BP and I didn't want to inconvenience anyone. We went to AC and didn't spend a fortune. Montreal we did last year and that was great because the drive isn't bad and its really cheap when you get there.
If I had to do it all over again or if I have any say in someone else's BP, I'd do a big ass brewery crawl in Vermont on a Thurs/Friday and head up to Montreal for a night thereafter.
We'd usually play golf during the day, or go deep sea fishing during the day, something like that, head to hotel, change, go out to a nice dinner, and then go to bars, see some strippers, and part ways the next day.
I guess when you get married later in life like people do today you have more disposable income and look for ways to spend it.
In the fall aren't the mosquitoes gone or is that just me being ignorant?
MLB Player Describes His Two-Month Battle With Zika - ( New Window )
I had my BP in Costa Rica and empathized with those that couldn't attend for whatever reason. I'm turning down a BP in Vegas this fall because I cannot attend. It's generally understood that the ask involved in attending is rather high, especially as we age and more family commitments take precedence.
That being said, one of my circles enjoys planning exotic annual trips as simply a way to reconnect as many of us have scattered across the country over time. Pick a destination, create a doodle for invitees to select dates of preference, and majority rules. If folks cannot attend, no hard feelings.