Zika Virus: What Women Who Come to Miami Need to Know

Despite the Zika virus, pregnant women are not afraid to come to give birth in Miami. Photo: depositphotos.com

Miami has long become popular among residents of the former CIS who want to give birth to a child and guarantee him American citizenship. Everything favors maternity tourism here: good hospitals, highly qualified doctors with knowledge of the Russian language, and even special companies that organize delivery from A to Z. However, after the spread of the Zika virus in Miami Beach, pregnant women who planned delivery in the US and local ladies in the position got worried. ForumDaily decided to find out if Zika is so scary, how he is painted, how to protect himself and whether he should come to give birth in Miami now.

Looking for answers

Muscovite Elena planned delivery in Miami for a year. From the moment the pregnancy test showed 2 strips, she and her husband began to prepare for the journey. Now Elena is at 7 and wants to fly to the USA with her family at the end of October. She learned about the Zika virus only a few months ago, carefully studied all the information, but did not change its decision.

“I won’t hide: my gynecologist persistently dissuaded me from going, citing the news she saw on television. And if before that we were not at all worried, then after her words and articles on the Internet we began to be afraid. A month ago, I contacted my American doctor, and he reassured me, saying that nothing was in danger for me and my baby in any case, since I was in the third trimester,” Elena tells her story.

The girl says that after talking with an American doctor, doubts have disappeared, and she advises everyone to consult with local doctors to get all the information. Many do.

Recent months phones in the office of Dr. Albert Starikov, the founder of the clinic Astar Medical Group, are torn. Foreign patients - mostly pregnant women from Russia and Ukraine - are bombarding the doctor with questions about the Zika virus in Florida.

Zika virus is a flavivirus carried by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes. It was first discovered in 1947 in a rhesus monkey in Uganda in a forest called Zika. The symptoms of the disease caused by Zika virus are similar to those of Dengue and Chikungunya fever. The patient may experience a slight fever, pain in the muscles and joints, skin rash, conjunctivitis, weakness or headache. Symptoms may persist for 2 – 7 days. A disease caused by a virus can be asymptomatic and can only be determined by means of tests. The danger of the virus is that it can cause microcephaly in the unborn child of a pregnant woman.

Currently, cases of Zika fever have been reported in more than 20 countries in South America and the Caribbean, in the USA, several states of Europe and even in Russia.

“All future mothers who want to come to the US for childbirth are worried and ask us many questions: what kind of virus is it really? Is it safe to come? and what happens if you get sick? I understand them! I would worry myself. But the problem is that in hospitals in Russia and Ukraine no one gives objective information. All conversations, in my opinion, boil down to intimidation - do not go anywhere, do nothing. This is fundamentally wrong, ”says Albert Starikov.

The doctor says that just a few weeks ago, a couple from Kiev visited his office, who was intimidated in a Ukrainian hospital.

“Of course, we reassured this couple, explained the whole situation, but imagine how many couples there are who do not ask questions to American doctors, but believe everything that was said at home,” says Starikov.

Prevention is key

Founder Astar Medical Group says that you should not give in to panic, but at the same time, pregnant women should always follow all the preventive procedures recommended by the Florida Department of Health.

1. When walking, use a repellent with one of these ingredients - DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, OLE, PMD, 2-undecanone. The higher the percentage of ingredient in the composition, the longer the repellent will act.

The site Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States It is stated that natural repellents not certified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (non-EPA registered) may be ineffective against Zika virus carriers, Dengue fever and Chikungunya fever. More information about the “right” repellents can be found on this site. organization.

Not only a pregnant woman, but also her partner, must use the repellent, as the Zika virus is also transmitted sexually.

2. Do not walk around open ponds.
3. After the rain, walk only in clothes that cover the arms and legs.
4. Treat shoes, socks, pants with a special insecticide called “Permethrin”.
5. At home, use nets on windows to help protect your home from the entry of mosquitoes that carry the virus.
6. Sleep under a mosquito net, if the air conditioner is not working, there are no nets on the windows or if you are resting outside.
7. Once a week, check and empty all tanks in which water can collect - flower pots, inflatable children's pools, buckets, drinkers for birds, etc.

“We are only talking about prevention. There is currently no vaccine against the Zika virus or medications to treat the disease caused by the Zika virus,” says Albert Starikov.

All information regarding the virus, risks and precautions can be found on the websites. Health department Florida and Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States.

“We, like any American clinic, adhere to all instructions and pass on information to our patients. Everyone can find this information themselves on the websites of these organizations. Everything is freely available. The main thing is to read in official sources,” advises Starikov.

Albert Starikov assures that Zika virus is dangerous for the fetus only in the first trimester. Photo: from the personal archive of Astar Medical Group

Minimizing the risks

Anna Khorsheva, a pregnant patient of Albert Starikov, lives in Miami. She says she is not prone to panic, the main thing is to do everything wisely.

“I’m not worried about Zika, I basically don’t like being subjected to general panic from a hurricane, a virus and other things. I've been bitten by mosquitoes all my life, so I always take repellent with me if I go outside. Now my husband is watching this more closely. And this virus is dangerous only in the first trimester, which I have already completed,” Anna shares with ForumDaily. “But in the case of pregnant women, the risk of developing pathologies in the child is 100%.” While there is no need to panic, it is better to be safe. For example, Dr. Starikov advised me to leave Miami during the first trimester.”

Anna is not afraid of Zika virus. Photo: Anna Khorsheva personal archive

The doctor confirms: you need to be especially careful in the early stages of pregnancy, because the Zika virus is dangerous for the fetus only in the first trimester.

“The main percentage of patients who come to give birth in Miami are women in the third trimester. And they are out of the risk zone,” says Albert Starikov confidently. - In my opinion, the problem is greatly exaggerated. I don’t know who needs this and why.”

Authoritative source Time, referring to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, writes that the risk of consequences from Zika virus is highest for pregnant women in the first trimester. And the famous medical portal Medscape reports that, according to a study published in the New England Medical Journal of 15 June 2016, Zika virus does not have an obvious negative effect on the fetus during the third trimester.

It is worth remembering that since the first trimester is considered the most responsible and difficult, during this period not only Zika virus is dangerous for the pregnant woman, but also rubella, chickenpox, cytomegalovirus infection, toxoplasmosis, chlamydia and even ordinary flu.

However, the Zika virus has not yet been studied to the extent that with 100% confidence it is possible to talk about all its negative effects on the human body in general and on a pregnant woman in particular. Online Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the USAnd even indicated questions that doctors can not yet give accurate answers:

• When is it safe to travel during pregnancy to countries and cities where Zika virus is common?
• If you have visited a country / city where there is a Zika virus, and a mosquito has bitten you, what is the likelihood that a virus has entered the bloodstream and you will get sick?
• If you have visited a country / city where there is a Zika virus, and a mosquito has bitten you, what is the probability that the Zika virus will cause deviations in your unborn child?

According to the chief doctor Astar Medical Group, local mosquito carriers of the Zika virus are concentrated in the 2 zones in Miami - an area in the 4,5 miles in Miami Beach and the Miami-Little River area in Miami-Dade County. On the epidemic in Miami it is not at all.

In general, cases of the disease caused by the Zika virus have been recorded in almost all US states. At the end of October 2016, 884 cases were registered in New York state, 296 in California, 90 in Georgia, 76 cases in Illinois, 104 in Maryland, 100 in Connecticut, 194 in New Jersey, Texas - 231, in Virginia - 87. Statistics for these states indicate only diseases from non-native mosquito vectors, which means that patients became infected with the virus after traveling to dangerous areas or after having sexual contact with a sick person. By comparison, the state of Florida has reported 708 cases from non-native carriers, and 137 people have contracted the virus from native Zika virus-carrying mosquitoes.

If you have any questions about pregnancy and Zika virus, you can contact Albert Starikov office by phone: 305 864-60-34 or by email [email protected].

Read also on ForumDaily:

Zika virus: what you need to know

40 states and territories will get money to fight the Zika virus

How to protect yourself from Zika virus

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