Zika Fear Has Doctors Advising Patients To Hold Off On Pregnancy Plans

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Zika virus is changing how OBGYN's talk to their patients.

"Some of them, basically we tell them not to try and get pregnant or not travel or go someplace else," said Dr. Gerald Pierre of Community Health of South Florida, Inc.

Dr. Pierre is worried about pregnant mothers, the backyards of his patients and the parks their kids play in.

There's also the concern that the state is behind, when it comes to fighting the source of Zika.

Chalmers Vasquez is Miami-Dade County's Mosquito Control manager. Vasquez and his staff of less than 20 are the front line of the Zika battle.

They are a very small army for an epidemic that affects the weakest.

"Remember, the Brazilians have 200,000 soldiers in Rio de Janeiro eliminating mosquitos," he said.

Zika is an encroaching threat and Dr. Pierre believes it could be a major problem in South Florida soon.

"It's a matter of when. I think a lot of people are undiagnosed, because again this is not something you cannot really diagnose until the baby is born, so this is something fairly new," he said. "I'm sure six months, five, six months from now, you're going to find a lot more baby with microcephaly."

Earlier in the week, a Zika meeting – sponsored by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz – brought together representatives from the CDC, FDA and the Department of Homeland Security.

One leading OB/GYN in her field said in her personal life she's telling friends and family who want to start a family to wait until the threat is gone.

It's advice being echoed in doctor offices throughout south Florida.

"I'd probably tell them to wait," Pierre said. "Someone like that I would tell to hold off and be careful."

Just how serious is the South Florida medical community taking this threat? Doctors around the country and world are advising their patients who want to get pregnant or are pregnant to stay out of the state.