Cheryl Conner/WJLA
A Vietnamese woman from Virginia, Anbinh Phan, knows the risks of going to countries with confirmed cases of the Zika virus, but still plan to go ahead with their trip to Argentina despite the warnings. Phan and her planned their trip to Argentina, before the Zika virus came out, and before she found out she was pregnant with her second child.
Mosquito larvae swim in a flower pot filled with rain water in the backyard of a home in Boca Raton, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
By the time Phan and her family planned to take the trip, the Zika virus had been transmitted in several countries, including Argentina’s neighbor, Brazil, so Phan asked her doctor if travelling was okay.
“We looked at the map and she was fine, and comfortable knowing that I’m going to be packing long sleeve tee-shirts, wearing long pants during the trip,” Phan said.
Phan packed repellents, including permethrin, and decided to keep her travel arrangements. She plans to stay safe by spraying the repellents on top of her clothes.
Phan’s family will meet her parents and siblings, but her immediate family changed their itinerary for a few days to head south where it’s cooler and not as close to the border.
ABC News Chief Medical Editor Dr. Richard Besser, who just came back from Brazil, said the tough part about the Zika virus is the symptoms are similar to other diseases.
“So the fact that there may not be as many reports out of Argentina, that doesn’t make me feel comfortable that there isn’t Zika being transmitted,” Dr. Besser said.
Phan said her husband was nervous, but she didn’t want to get swept up in the concern, considering cases of the Zika virus were also being reported in the U.S.
“Life goes on. You can’t leave yourself in a bubble,” Phan said.
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