Canadians heading to sun destinations told to heed Zika warnings

By News Staff

‘Tis the season to seek out sun destinations for holiday travel. If you plan to fly to a Zika infected country and are pregnant or considering having a baby in the near future, the Centre for Disease Control and Health Canada have updated their Zika prevention guidelines. CityNews Reporter Adrian Ghobrial speaks to Dr. Isaac Bogoch, Clinical Researcher at Toronto General, about the Zika virus and what you need to know before you book.

Adrian Ghobrial: First let’s look at the more recent updates from what we’re being told if you are expecting to be pregnant.

Isaac Bogoch: The general concern over pregnant women still stands. We know that Zika virus can affect the developing fetus and it can have some pretty bad effects on the developing fetus. Pregnant women should not get Zika virus and the recommendations are if you are pregnant or considering becoming pregnant in the near future, to not travel to countries that are affected with Zika virus.

We know that’s not an option for some people. Some people have to go to visit family or they have events that they have to attend and they are going to go visit. So if people are pregnant or are considering becoming pregnant and are travelling to a Zika virus area, they are to take all the precautions possible to avoid getting infected.

What that really means is, wearing long sleeve shirts, wearing long pants and putting on mosquito repellent, remembering that the mosquitoes that transmit Zika virus are mosquitoes that bite during the day time. So they are particularly active in the dawn and in the dusk and in the day time in-between.

Adrian Ghobrial: So what about the evening?

Isaac Bogoch: It’s true that in the evening the mosquitoes that transmit Zika virus aren’t out, however, in many parts of the tropics there are other mosquitoes out in the evening and they transmit another infection called malaria, which can be very, very dangerous as well.

So the 30,000 foot view, the big picture here is, if you’re going to the tropics it’s a really good idea to go see a physician or health care provider before you go to get good advice on how to stay healthy and how to stay safe while you’re travelling.


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Check here for Government of Canada Travel Advisories


Adrian Ghobrial: We’re not trying to fear monger but there needs to be some awareness for people. What are the chances if I book a trip to say, Mexico or Jamaica, that I could be infected with Zika virus.

Isaac Bogoch: We know we’re in the middle of a Zika virus epidemic. We know that the Caribbean, Central and South America are affected right now. It’s hard to know what an individual’s risk of getting the infection is but I can tell you that, here in Canada, we’re seeing people return from popular tourist destinations and they’ve got the Zika virus. Of course not everyone is getting it but the risk is still there and if people are getting bitten by mosquitoes, the risk is not zero per cent and they should avoid getting bit by mosquitoes to avoid getting Zika virus.

Adrian Ghobrial: So there is a clear and present risk.

Isaac Bogoch: There certainly is. In fact, for example, this week alone I saw three cases of Zika virus in travellers who returned from Caribbean islands.

Adrian Ghobrial: How serious should people take this as they’re booking their trips this winter.

Isaac Bogoch: For the vast majority of people, Zika virus will have zero to no impact on their lives. For the vast majority of people, 80 per cent in fact, they won’t have any symptoms and they won’t even know they’re infected. For the 20 per cent of people that are infected with Zika virus that have symptoms, it’s a very mild infection. People might have a few days of fever, they might get a rash, some people describe redness in their eyes. If people do have symptoms it’s typically two or three days of feeling slightly unwell and then they get better and they live happily ever after like it never existed.

The concern is for people who are pregnant, people who are becoming pregnant or interested in becoming pregnant in the near future. There are travel advisories in place for men and women travellers in case they are considering having a child in the near future.

We know that the Zika virus can persist in the male genital tract for up to six months after exposure if he’s infected. We know it can persist in a female genital tract for a little bit less time, about one to two months if a woman is infected. Currently the guidelines suggest if a male returns from a Zika virus infected area and he and his partner are interested in having a baby, they wait for six months.

If it’s just the woman that was away and the woman returns from a Zika virus infected area and she’s interested in having a child, it’s recommended that she wait at least two months before attempting to have a baby.

Adrian Ghobrial: Am I correct to assume that these guidelines have changed and been updated in recent weeks.

Isaac Bogoch: Absolutely. If we rewind to the very beginning of the Zika virus epidemic, the medical and scientific community didn’t know this infection could be transmitted sexually. The guidelines rapidly adjusted when it was found that there was sexual transmissions of Zika virus and then when there were was cases of Zika virus being transmitted many months after someone had left a Zika virus affected area, the guidelines changed to accommodate for the persistence of this virus in the male and female genital tract.

The guidelines cast a pretty wide net, they’re really just trying to be as safe as possible for the vast majority of people. So six months is a very long time to wait and that’s because there were a couple of cases where the virus was detected in a male genital tract at around the six month mark and that’s why the six month time frame was chosen. But by and large, if it is in the genital tract it’s probably not going to be there for six months. Six months was chosen to be a very safe marker.

Adrian Ghobrial: As people start to fly south and the temperatures start to increase down there, could we see this epidemic spread even worse this year? Are we on the cusp of something big here?

Isaac Bogoch: We know that the infection has spread throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean and spread widely throughout these areas. One of the concerns is that this infection is introduced or reintroduced to countries that might have had it a long time ago. The concern is, could this spread to Africa or Asia. We know for example Singapore had some cases, Thailand had some cases and could this be further transmitted to Southeast Asia, south Asia and Africa. And that is certainly a very real risk.

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