Got questions about Zika? So did a handful of people at the Herald-Tribune’s recent Zika forum. (I’ve got them too: I’m eight months pregnant and trying to stay calm about Zika, and I wrote about it here: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20160812/NEWS/160819853)
Here are some of the most interesting questions from the forum.
The experts answering questions were:
- Dr. Vilma Vega, chief medical officer, Community AIDS Network Florida
- Matthew Smith, director of Sarasota County Mosquito Management
- Michael Drennon, county epidemiologist, Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County
- Dr. Kyle Garner, chief of obstetrics, Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Q: I’m a full time resident of Bradenton and my 30-year old daughter is coming to area to get married on the beach in October. Her sister-in-law is pregnant and has already been advised by her doctor in Chicago not to come to the area. My daughter is worried that her friends, who are all in their late 20’s and early 30’s and could be pregnant or interested in becoming pregnant, will be told not to come. What should we do?
Drennon: We get calls on this a lot, not just for people concerned about Zika but from family members who have people of childbearing age coming to visit. In Sarasota County we do not have local transmission and we’ve had only one travel-associated case. It’s completely safe to travel here.
I’d say it’s safe for your daughter and her friends to come here, just take precautions like wearing mosquito repellent.
Q: What about the hotels and venues? How can we make sure they’re keeping their areas landscaped and free of standing water where mosquitoes can breed?
Smith: We hope that they’re taking precautions and we’re trying to educate them, but we don’t have the authority to force them to take care of their property. We are encouraging people to call us if they are concerned about hosting visitors at their home, and we will do trapping and search around their house and spray for mosquitoes. Also, if you call and tell us which resort they’ll be at, I’ll send a tech to the resort and at the very least provide materials to the owners so that they know how to keep their property free of mosquitoes.
To contact mosquito management, call 941-861-5000 or visit https://www.scgov.net/mms/Pages/default.aspx.
Q: My mother told me that if you put coffee grounds in any standing water, it prevents mosquitoes from breeding in that container. I put used coffee grounds in my flower pots to test it out. Do you know if this works?
Smith: I think it would probably work, and you know, caffeine is probably not a great environment for breeding. But as far as something we could use system-wide, I look at things on large scale and coffee grounds are not something feasible for me to use. I would have to see some data, and plus, looking at the price of coffee, I could probably find a less expensive way to disrupt mosquito breeding.
But try it, and give us a call and tell us how it’s working.
Q: How far can a homeowner’s association go in requiring people that live in the neighborhood to maintain their yard?
Smith: I would suspect they have quite a bit of sway and they probably can set and enforce rules for the neighborhood. I think it’s a good idea for the HOA to get involved. As far as rules, it’s more of a real estate law thing.
Q: What are the names of the proven mosquito repellents?
Smith: DEET, oil of lemon eucalyptus, picaridin, IR 3535. (For a detailed list, visit the CDC’s website: http://www.cdc.gov/features/stopmosquitoes/)
Q: If an infant contracts Zika, could they have the neurological problems that fetuses have, or would they handle it more like an adult and just get flu-like symptoms?
Vega: Neurological conditions could show up later, but there’s no way to tell. If they contract disease at 1, they’ll not have microcephaly, but they still could have other conditions—even things that might mimic autism-type symptomology.
Q: Is it possible that Zika virus could be like the virus that causes chicken pox, where it stays in your system and it can come out later as shingles? Could it become a sleeper virus?
Vega: We’ve not seen that. In what we know of the history of the virus, that has not been a noted consequence.
Q: How close are we to seeing a vaccine?
Vega: If the funding is there, it could be available in as soon as two years. I imagine it would be delivered like many other vaccines, and made available rather quickly to countries at greatest risk of outbreaks.
Q: I’ll be 85 in September, and my daughter is pregnant and due in October. Should my daughter travel here to come to my birthday party?
Smith: Yes, and call us and we’ll clear a path for her.