Carnival warning about mosquito dis.

My adult daughter and her bf want to do the cave tubing excursion in Belitz, they received a letter from Carnival regarding the mosquito borne diseases and we do know its very active here and she is most concerned as she can't afford to get sick as she must get back to work after the cruise.

Has anybody done this excursion and those who haven't that been in Belitz have you gotten mosquito bites? Even with mosquito repellent you can still get bitten and we would like your feedback so that she can decide whether to cancel the excursion or not. We like to hear if anybody has gotten bitten here?

We are also going to Roatan and like to know whether anybody there has gotten bitten...I have Lupus and other auto immune diseases, I need to be extra careful.... any advice you can give would be appreciated, thank you.

My adult daughter and her bf want to do the cave tubing excursion in Belitz, they received a letter from Carnival regarding the mosquito borne diseases and we do know its very active here and she is most concerned as she can't afford to get sick as she must get back to work after the cruise.

 

Has anybody done this excursion and those who haven't that been in Belitz have you gotten mosquito bites? Even with mosquito repellent you can still get bitten and we would like your feedback so that she can decide whether to cancel the excursion or not. We like to hear if anybody has gotten bitten here?

 

We are also going to Roatan and like to know whether anybody there has gotten bitten...I have Lupus and other auto immune diseases, I need to be extra careful.... any advice you can give would be appreciated, thank you.

Here is some information on Zika - which is already being documented as having reached the Americas. https://news.vice.com/article/the-zika-virus-is-spreading-through-the-americas-very-quickly

some further info here - please note second paragraph which indicates symptoms usually mild to none - the biggest concern would be pregnancy:

https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/faq/whats-your-general-advice-on-the-zirka-virus

..and yes repellent and avoiding standing water areas at dawn and dusk and keeping covered would help....

How Can I Prevent Zika Infection?

Creating a barrier between mosquitoes is the best prevention. Avoid being outdoors during the peak mosquito feeding times or early morning and sundown. Wear protective clothing. Use rubber bands to close off openings at your wrists and ankles. Apply mosquito repellent. Keep screen doors closed. Sleep under a mosquito net. To prevent mosquitos breeding near your living space, empty objects that can contain standing water like flowerpots, fountains, and buckets.

We did the cave tubing excursion as a family a few years ago in December. We did not have any mosquito/insect repellant with us. And i am normally one that gets bit up by mosquitos when we are here at home. But no one in our party got one mosquito bite. Not sure if it was the time of year or if they actually treat the area for mosquitos.

I think you will be fine just be sure to take some mosquito repellant with you.

On this same cruise we stopped at Roatan and did not have any issues with mosquitos either. Again just have mosquito repellent with you.

On another cruise we took in October we went to Roatan and visited Maya Key. I had no less than 50 small bug bites on me as did a lot of the people on the excursion as well. Should have had bug spray! The bites didn't itch just looked bad with all the little tiny red bites everywhere. But they were gone by the next morning. Not sure what kind of bug bites they were though.....

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We did cave tubing in June and did not see one mosquito.

You can get bit by a mosquito anywhere, anytime. You can get Zika here in the US now.

You can get Zika here in the US now.

I really wish people would stop posting bad information. It just causes needless panic.

Per the CDC

"No locally transmitted Zika cases have been reported in the continental United States, but cases have been reported in returning travelers."

http://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/index.html

And the OP wasn't asking specifically about zika, but mosquitos in general which carry many different viruses. If someone is concerned about getting mosquito bites they should buy repellent with deet in it.

We were just in Belize and Roatan last week

Again, if someone plans to get pregnant I would never recommend going. For the rest of us though... There were very very few bugs. Neither of us got bitten once or even noticed any flying insects at all. The locals said the lack of rain recently has kept the insect levels very low.

I think someone told me once those are sand fleas...I was covered in the red dot bites after visiting Roatan in summer of 2007 and like you they were gone the next day.

On another cruise we took in October we went to Roatan and visited Maya Key. I had no less than 50 small bug bites on me as did a lot of the people on the excursion as well. Should have had bug spray! The bites didn't itch just looked bad with all the little tiny red bites everywhere. But they were gone by the next morning. Not sure what kind of bug bites they were though.....

 

 

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My adult daughter and her bf want to do the cave tubing excursion in Belitz, they received a letter from Carnival regarding the mosquito borne diseases and we do know its very active here and she is most concerned as she can't afford to get sick as she must get back to work after the cruise.

 

Has anybody done this excursion and those who haven't that been in Belitz have you gotten mosquito bites? Even with mosquito repellent you can still get bitten and we would like your feedback so that she can decide whether to cancel the excursion or not. We like to hear if anybody has gotten bitten here?

 

We are also going to Roatan and like to know whether anybody there has gotten bitten...I have Lupus and other auto immune diseases, I need to be extra careful.... any advice you can give would be appreciated, thank you.

Whether someone got bit is irrelevant, it's all what happens to be there at the time. The rest of the time the mosquito is busy doing what mosquitos do wherever they are at the time.

Look at Anthem, who would have thought that happened, yet people could write that never happened to them the week before.

Never bitten that I can recall. But that's me. It may not be you.

We did this tour last year in Feb. We never saw a mosquito on the entire trip. I remember thinking we should have brought repellant as there is a walk through a wooded area as well as a lunch stop on the way back. but we didn't need it. Not much stagnant water around there so less chance of mosquitos. To be safer, keep the (deet based) repellant on and you should be okay. Remember to apply over any sunscreen. Its a great excursion, have a good time.

My adult daughter and her bf want to do the cave tubing excursion in Belitz, they received a letter from Carnival regarding the mosquito borne diseases and we do know its very active here and she is most concerned as she can't afford to get sick as she must get back to work after the cruise.

 

Has anybody done this excursion and those who haven't that been in Belitz have you gotten mosquito bites? Even with mosquito repellent you can still get bitten and we would like your feedback so that she can decide whether to cancel the excursion or not. We like to hear if anybody has gotten bitten here?

 

We are also going to Roatan and like to know whether anybody there has gotten bitten...I have Lupus and other auto immune diseases, I need to be extra careful.... any advice you can give would be appreciated, thank you.

I have been to Belize, Cozumel, and Roatan several times. One time when leaving Cozumel, I could see numerous mosquitos on the outside of my cabin window. On a different cruise, in Cozumel at the private beach house excursion, there were mosquitos when we stood in the grass in front of the house, but I did not notice any once we moved onto the beach. I think it just depends on conditions when you are there. Most trips in those areas, I never noticed any mosquitos, but it is certainly possible. There are several mosquito-borne viruses besides Zika.

I did the Belize cave-tubing and didn't get bit. I usually am the first and only to find every mosquito in the area too.

Our tour guide actually asked us to not put bug spray and SPF on because it pollutes the water. I ignored him. I'm basically Casper the Friendly Ghost and I will burn horribly. I'd def wear bug spray just in case.

I was just in Belize and Roatan a few weeks ago. I can't really comment on Belize because we were snorkelling so it was obviously not an issue. But in Roatan I never noticed any mosquitos and I was not wearing repellant. We were all over the island doing all sorts of different things and it was not an issue for us at all.

Now if she's pregnant or could become pregnant in the near future, I would definitely have her avoid both areas. It's not worth the risk.

I really wish people would stop posting bad information. It just causes needless panic.

 

Per the CDC

"No locally transmitted Zika cases have been reported in the continental United States, but cases have been reported in returning travelers."

 

http://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/index.html

 

And the OP wasn't asking specifically about zika, but mosquitos in general which carry many different viruses. If someone is concerned about getting mosquito bites they should buy repellent with deet in it.

There have been locally transmitted cases in Texas.

Per Dallas Department of Health

http://www.dallascounty.org/department/hhs/documents/DCHHS_Zika_HealthAdvisory_20160202_final.pdf

& CNN News Story

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/02/health/zika-virus-sexual-contact-texas/

My family and I were in Belize at the end of November and we did the Zip Line tour.

We did not have any mosquito repellent and I begged some from a driver for my children. Luckily, my kids did not get bit at all. But they were swarming everywhere.

My wife and I were not so lucky. We each had about 15 bites or more and those mosquitoes leave a nasty bite. They bruised pretty bad and were very sore. Unlikely our US skeeters which just itch.

So, my recommendation is bring Deep Woods Off and use it! It worked great on my kids.

We are heading back to Belize again on Independence of the Seas for Easter and we will definitely bring it with us this time (even though we are doing snorkeling).

Cheers!

There have been locally transmitted cases in Texas.

 

Per Dallas Department of Health

http://www.dallascounty.org/department/hhs/documents/DCHHS_Zika_HealthAdvisory_20160202_final.pdf

 

& CNN News Story

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/02/health/zika-virus-sexual-contact-texas/

Shame on me for posting bad information. :D

I take reports from those who did not experience bites with a bit of skepticism. Not that I do not believe their experience, but not all bites are noticeable, itchy, or painful.

Mosquitoes do not always swarm and can be hard to see. In my experience, when in areas with mosquitoes that carry various nasties, one should take reasonable precautions. And just because one is in full sunlight at noon in the middle of an urban area, one should not discount the possibility of a mosquito bite.

Not trying to cause panic. But I do not think one should simply discount the possibility of contracting a mosquito born disease because the probability is low. Especially if a cruise line has seen fit to issue a written warning.

While the effects of zika seem to be fairly innocuous, with the exception of the possible link to brain damage in fetus, dengue and malaria are not so benign. Using a deet insect repellent is no more difficult than using sunscreen and under appropriate conditions makes just as much sense.

For those with serious health issues, a discussion with the family doctor might be in order to assess risk and suitable precautions.

If I were at the age of reproduction, like teens to 40s, I would be terrified to take a cruise anywhere in the Caribbean due to this Zika virus. One mosquito bit can cause your baby to have serious medical issues for life. Sorry... that would TERRIFY me.

As far as mosquitos in Belize... we were just there in August doing the Mayan ruins. We all had bug spray but our guide said not to bother, it was +90 degrees and she said we would sweat it all off. Plus she said it wasn't the rainy season so mosquitos were not bad. WE did what she said, didn't use any... and not a single bite all day in the jungle. NOW, with this virus problem, I would use the DEET regardless and pray.

Roatan... sand fleas, called noseums, are vicious little bugs that live in the sand and shore areas. They do not carry diseases, like mosquitos, however they do leave a little red itchy bite mark. Some people get a rash if they are sensitive. DEET doesn't work as well for them as things like Cactus Juice, Avon skinsosoft, Eucalyptus oil, etc. Noseums are not always active, they go in cycles, usually a week after heavy rainstorms.

I had the same concern as we are going to Cozumel, Belize, and Mahogany Bay in March and my daughter who is 19 will be coming along. I wouldn't do anything that would potentially affect her possibility of a future healthy pregnancy. So I did some research and found the following from a reputable source:

Found this on http://www.cdc.gov/zika/pregnancy/question-answers.html

If a woman who is not pregnant is bitten by a mosquito and infected with Zika virus, will her future pregnancies be at risk?

We do not know the risk to the infant if a woman is infected with Zika virus while she is pregnant. Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for only a few days to a week. The virus will not cause infections in an infant that is conceived after the virus is cleared from the blood. There is currently no evidence that Zika virus infection poses a risk of birth defects in future pregnancies. A women contemplating pregnancy, who has recently recovered from Zika virus infection, should consult her healthcare provider after recovering.