Expats and the Zika Virus Scare

Expats in Central and South America find themselves right in the middle of the Zika virus outbreak. The virus and its related conditions, confirmed or suspected, have been widely covered in the U.S. media over the last few months. Numerous countries have been affected in Central, South, and North America, and the Caribbean, with Brazil receiving the most coverage.

Anyone living in these areas is obviously going to be concerned and interested in learning as much as possible to understand the health implications. So, expats are talking about the virus and sharing their thoughts and opinions.

Generally, as with any unfolding event, the lack of concrete information and understanding of the virus has led to divergent viewpoints on Zika virus, microcephaly, the threat to pregnant women and their babies, and more. In short, conspiracy theories are inevitable.

We've pulled some excerpts from our members' comments to provide some insight into the experiences and thoughts of expats living in the areas where the crisis is taking place. Following these, you'll find links to the CDC website and more.

Please note that the thoughts of our members are their own, and that Expat Exchange is not agreeing or disagreeing with any of their comments. We're just trying to provide a window into the thought process of those living in the relevant areas:

Expat From Colombia:

"My friend's daughter who lives in Bogota and is in her fifties apparently got Zika after a trip to El Quindio, symptoms very much like a severe flu, mainly a lot of muscle aches. I would guess that in areas where rice is cultivated would be breeding grounds for mosqutoes and would take extra precautions if living or visiting such places. When I spoke to her about the fetal deformaties caused by the virus, my friend seemed to be unaware, which makes me wonder if there has been enough education on this to the public."

Report From Brazil Citizen

"I live in Sao Paulo, in Sao Bernardo do Campo. In our state, one of the richest in the country. Here in the state [we] are beginning to worry about the outbreak of Zika. We have a concern with dengue, but... Zika is a first for our people. The largest Zika outbreaks have been in our northeastern region, the poorest, with a high concentration of social inequality and so some people sin by the habit of living with stagnant water (breeding of mosquito larvae) and in coastal regions or simply live [in] side drains, because in many areas there is no sanitation. Also there is a crisis with regard to mothers who have been attacked by the virus during pregnancy, causing an absurd outbreak of microcephaly."

"There were some cases out of the northeast, but many of them mothers were infected in the northeast and migrated to other states. What caused some warning first. It was enough to pharmacies and supermarkets leverage the sale of anti insects and protective gear to protect themselves from mosquitoes."

Another consequence was the decrease in the number of planned pregnancies. Many fertility clinics also had very high customer outages. v Above all, beyond the panic by the exhaustive and repetitive reports by the country's leading TV channels of communication on the subject (and believe me, they are really exhaustive).

Unfortunately, our press is more concerned with further damage the image of an already strained government (we live today a political internal crisis because the left wants to take power again) than actually teach people about preventing the proliferation of Zika."

Expat From Costa Rica:

"We're all the buzz about the Zika virus now, just got back fro a Caribbean cruise and when we landed in Cartagena Colombia they published the CDC warning about countries with problems and Colombia and Panama our next destination were on the list but not Costa Rica! We're off the park today with a liberal spray of Off Deep Wood's with deet, better safe than sorry! Pura Vida!"

Expats From Nicaragua:

"Zika is a lot less pathogenic than Dengue, which has been there forever, or Chikungunya, which was more recently characterized, so whatever precautions you would have taken five years ago, are still appropriate now. I have spent a few weeks a year in Nicaragua for the last many years, at all elevations and in all seasons, and just use mosquito repellent. A friend of mine got Dengue there about 5 years ago (she was with me); pretty serious disease."

"The zika virus is in Nicaragua. The public health system is good and they are going after mosquitos like an old Testament warrior. However, the zika virus is mostly a media sensation, most people don't even know they have it. It only really negatively affects certain people. The media circus has been really misleading. The relatives of zika, dengue and chikanguna, or however, you spell it, are real and over half the people we know have had one or the other and some lucky people have had both. The mosquito is the most dangerous animal on the planet and if you live in the tropics you will have to deal with them."

"The drama around the Zika virus has to do with a prematurely assumed association with babies born with microcephaly in Brazil, a very small number of whom also tested positive for Zika... Worry about which repellants to use and/or stay at higher elevations, and/or research homeopathic and tissue salts said to reduce the likelihood of developing dengue or chikungunya if you are bitten by a disease-carrying mosquito and don't worry about Zika. It's a ploy to sell more vaccines (and is also possibly being used as a strategy to force the issue of providing legal abortion in countries where it has been banned)."

Expats in Ecuador

"We're busy digging out overgrown canals in dry Anconcito. Any low lying ravine is a gully wash and garbage collects. It is an eyesore but worse a fresh water catch and horrifying mosquito breeding ground... The machinery comes from the municipality of which we are a part, Salinas."

"Today is the close of school for the lower grades ... [they] have a closing party and 'graduation' event for the group who will be starting high school next term... [spoke] with the moms and they are pragmatic. Preparing as they can, worrying, making plans of what if. Most are planning contraceptive shots. The clinics are pushing them as a major health measure. Otherwise they are keeping babies at the breast longer, to continue immunity during the rainy seasons [as] dengue and chikungunya rise. And taking every precaution they can afford..."

"The more I read and hear about this particular little disease spreader the more I think people should be concerned. Having lived in South Florida for many years prior to moving here, I am well schooled in taking precautions against mosquitoes - no standing water, clean up possible nesting sites, spray areas around and in the home, wear protective clothing when outdoors, particularly early evenings and early mornings (prime feeding time for mosquitoes ) etc. But this is a mosquito, according to the experts, that a) likes to nest in damp clothing, or wet areas in home b) is a day feeder and c) carries a disease that doesn't exhibit the symptoms common to dengue and chikungunya."

Expats in Uruguay

"For basically healthy adults who are not going to become pregnant, Dengue and Chikungunya are more frightening. All 3 diseases are carried by that NASTY (and spooky looking) Aedes Aegypti mosquito. Not nice."

"Don't believe everything your television tells you. Zika has been around at least since the 40s. And it has never caused any problems for pregnant women or anyone else. However, they have been vaccinating pregnant women in Brazil with a new vaccine for the past year. But that couldn't be the cause of all of the birth defects now could it? Many of the people who own the big media outlets have publicly stated that they want a world wide population reduction of up to 90%. What a coincidence that those very same media outlets are hyping a threat with the solution being not to reproduce. Turn off your television. Think for yourself."

Information About Zika and Related Conditions:

CDC: Centers For Disease Controla Provention's Zika Information

CDC:Countries and Territories with Active Zika Virus transmissions.

CDC: Information About Microcephaly

WHO: World Health Organization ZIKA Information