I just read in my local paper that Columbian Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria said the most worrisome part of the mosquito borne virus is the dramatic spike in cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome that are now thought to be Zika related. "This is the principal concern of the public health sector in Latin America," Gavira said of the virus.

(According to the newspaper) The WHO said the virus has been reported in 23 countries and is likely to spread to every nation in the hemisphere except Chile and Canada because of its cooler climate.

I am not trying to scare anyone but I figured being informed would be a good idea. There is no medicine or vaccine to treat the virus and further taxing our nervous system is the opposite of what we try to do. I am personally going to be very careful to protect myself from mosquitoes.

I found this article this morning:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...guillain-barre

I think we are seeing the tip of an iceberg with this potentially destructive virus.. If it can cause microcephaly in unborn babies it has to be doing nasty things to adults as well.

And this is circulating:

http://theantimedia.org/zika-outbrea...eased-in-2015/

--Guillain Barre syndrome, and some other acute onset autoimmune neuropathies, are known to often be associated with an infectious prodrome, with an infection being reported days to weeks before the onset of the neuropathy, implying a molecular mimicry process.

Among the organisms previously implicated are Campylobacter jejuni and Haemophilus influenzae; it would not surprise me if Zika has been behind some mysterious Guillain Barre onsets (and may continue to be).

As MrsD says this is the "tip of the iceberg" - and not just for the Zika virus. For anyone interested there's an excellent book: "Viral Storm" by Nathan Wolfe - published in 2012 - it may be a little out of date now but well worth reading.

My son and his wife have an upcoming trip they can not cancel to Costa Rica in May. The WHO suggests an EPA-registered repellent. I would not be so freaked but they are trying to get pregnant. Costa Rica is not Brazil but still...

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I'm surprised at this: I've heard at least some airlines are allowing cancellations, but perhaps that's only for pregnant women.

David it's not only a question of refunds. There are other extenuating circumstances.

I live in a location where the Aedes Aegypti mosquito is prevalent. In my area it is responsible for the spread of Dengue Fever mostly but also other nasties. It's also a very busy area for overseas tourists, mostly from parts of Asia, but from everywhere really.

In the past I have used a neem tree oil to repel them but now have changed to using a chemical based repellent which I really don't like doing, but it is absolutely necessary here. In any given day I'm in the proximity of dozens and more of newly arrived tourists at the same time that mosquitoes are buzzing around. That's mosly dawn and dusk and it's so hot here that's when people are outside a lot.

The advice from my country is for women who are actively seeking to become pregnant or are pregnant right now, to avoid going to the list of places where Zika has been found. The problem with that is that every day it seems another place is added to the list. Costa Rica is not on our govt. list today btw, although it could be by May.

Either way, it's imperative that everyone who lives in areas where there are mosquitoes, starts wearing a mosquito repellent. It's impossible wear clothing to cover the whole body in this heat. It's also imperative that tourists who are moving from country to country, via ship or air, alert authorities the moment they suspect they are ill from "something" and have a fever, rash, conjunctivitis, headaches, or aches and pains. That's the difficult thing, self-reporting, plus the symptoms are the same for Dengue and Chikungunya (also Ross River Fever here).

pinkynose, If they're not going until May, they have some time to see how it pans out there. If they're going for sure, then would need to postpone any pregnancy.

They're going the beginning of March. I made a mistake in my post. They'll have to keep a watch anyway. I think I'll forward them some reading material. They live in a fairly isolated community and hadn't heard about Zika until I brought it up during our weekly phone call.