Chikungunya in the Caribbean

I would be interested on any feed back on this - seems to be on the smaller islands aswell

Many thanks

It is widespread in San Juan, PR. However, the locals fend it off with OFF, which seems to be effective guarding against the bite. They joke that the new cologne is "Eau de OFF".

I was a bit alarmed to see that most of our upcoming ports of call in the Spring are in the WHO affected zone:

" In December 2013, there were 2 cases in French St Martin. Since then, local transmission has been confirmed in Dutch Saint Martin [st Maarten], Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and St Barthelemy. As of October 2014, over 776 000 suspected cases of Chikungunya have been recorded in the Caribbean islands and Latin American countries"

Their advice, echoed this week by Virgin holidays, is to wear long-sleeved clothing and reapply insect repellent every 2 hours. I see the OFF range is DEET ranging from 7% (affording up to 2hrs protection) through to 98% (giving up to 10hrs cover).

I do not think we will be going on any rain-forest excursions!

It's also active in Asia. I have a friend who contracted it in the Philippines last year. Her recovery took months.

Dengue is another worry... always better to use mosquito repellent in these tropical zones.

I got attacked by the suckers at the Caviar in the Surf event last year on Sojourn. The staff were passing out repellent but those suckers were the size of hummingbirds and not easily deterred.

I wonder if any of those personal electronic mosquito repellant gizmos actually work.

The World Health Organization have a useful fact sheet on Chikungunya at http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs327/en/.

I was a little concerned to find that Chikungunya is a problem in Singapore where we join the Odyssey on Sunday.

However, to give some perspective, so far this year in Singapore there have only been 20% of the cases there were in 2013 and Chikungunya cases are only 1% of the number of cases of Dengue Fever or Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, so hopefully we'll survive with few sensible precautions.

Indonesia may be more of a issue.

The dry season in the Caribbean is quickly approaching, so that will help in reducing the standing water, which is a breeding ground for Chickungunya (as well as other mosquito transmitted problems). I travel to Barbados for business and have close friends that live/work there and there has been great concern re the spread of this virus. I am also spending the Christmas holidays on the island of Carriacou which has had a much higher incidence of the virus. Generally, cruise passengers who take sensible precautions should be fine but note that the type of mosquito that carries the virus can be a morning, noon or night type mosquito (vs a dawn/dusk type). So make sure you use a deet based product that's lasts several hours. I don't like using deet, but it's better than the virus. Note that the older you are, the more serious and extended effects of "Chick", with the joint swelling/fatigue possibly lasting for months/years. Don't let this affect your travel plans but like anywhere...travel safe. If you have a weakened immune system or are elderly, then I would be especially concerned if exposed to Mosquitos.

This virus is not a laughing matter. My parents/ sister live in PR and have unfortunately been affected by it, including my father who is 92 yrs old and doesnt leave the house. It started over 6 weeks ago and they have improved very little, this Other family members were infected in late August, early Sept and still are feeling the effects from it.

Frankly, I wouldnt travel on vacation to the Caribbean, you're just playing Russian roulette. If you do, douse yourself on repellent.