Chikungunya mosquito virus?

[alyssa0922]

Do you think there is reason to worry about this or am I just being paranoid? We will be cruising the Caribbean and would rather not be infected.... Do you think mosquito repellant will keep any mosquitos carrying this away?

 

 

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[sharpasice]

Do you think there is reason to worry about this or am I just being paranoid? We will be cruising the Caribbean and would rather not be infected.... Do you think mosquito repellant will keep any mosquitos carrying this away?

 

 

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I do not think you are being paranoid at all...this is from yesterday's LA times

 

http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-caribbean-chikungunya-virus-spreading-20140619-story.html

 

MY question is...has anyone ever noticed mosquitoes while the ship is moving as opposed to being in port? I really hate to have to use bug spray everyday...even while NOT in port.

[waltd]

Another good reason to not leave you cabin sliding glass door propped open.

[shredie]

Oh great. Something else to worry about. I don't know how effective they are, but you can buy little plastic bracelets with repellent in them. It's not the same as spraying it all over yourself, but I agree, it's not ideal to use repellent all the time.

[jnc411]

We will be going to the Caribbean this year also , and I plan on taking bug spray with deet along. I have read the boards here re some of the islands mentioned and the comments were that the cruisers had not seen any mossies or had any bites. But I agree that keeping the balcony doors closed is a good idea. But we still plan on going.

Cori

[custompcsys]

Before we hit the panic button let's try and keep the numbers in perspective:

 

Puerto Rico: 1 reported case, population 3,725,789

US Vigin Islands: 1 reported case, population 108,157

Cuba: 6 reported cases, population 11,164,000

 

The highest concentration of cases are in Guadeloupe and Martinique, with 1,300 and 1,500 cases respectively. The bottom line is if when you get off the ship in a Caribbean port you wear insect repellant and you keep your balcony door closed, you have about as much a chance of catching this as you do winning Powerball.

Edited June 20, 2014 by custompcsys

[AKman2495]

Well we were in the Caribbean when all this first broke out. We went to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Grand Turk and never once saw a mosquito. Apparently, they are more prevalent at night. We did bring a roll on bug repellant and used it at St.Thomas but, as I said, we never came close to seeing a mosquito and we toured the island.

[Astro Flyer]

Here's what the US CDC wrote about chikungunya in the Caribbean on June 17, 2014 which has affected most islands.

 

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/watch/chikungunya-caribbean

Edited June 20, 2014 by Astro Flyer

[juniper berries]

I have been bitten twice on my balcony on the ship when entering into the port are once a couple of years ago in St Thomas by some thing that took a small piece of flesh out. And this year in January when got a bit while wearing a long skirt when coming into port at Sen Jaun Del Sur in Nicaraqua. So used insect replant that day and didn't have any problems with bugs biting. I think the second time the bug got caught up under my skirt. I think it is best to have insect repellent with you. The new insect repellent is different form years ago.

I haven't used it since i was a kid with the cans of Off insect repellent that had the CFC"s in it. Hope you have a great trip and see no bugs.:)

[MtnBikerFallDown]

This is an older infographic, but I really like it because it lists the amount of time that certain mosquito repellents work. Notice that the bands pretty much don't work at all.

 

http://dailyinfographic.com/are-you-a-mosquito-magnet-infographic

 

This is a good guide to use, as it tells you how often to reapply. Also, remember, if you're doing sunblock and repellent, you use sunblock FIRST, then repellent.

[bhopal21]

Before we hit the panic button let's try and keep the numbers in perspective:

 

Puerto Rico: 1 reported case, population 3,725,789

US Vigin Islands: 1 reported case, population 108,157

Cuba: 6 reported cases, population 11,164,000

 

The highest concentration of cases are in Guadeloupe and Martinique, with 1,300 and 1,500 cases respectively. The bottom line is if when you get off the ship in a Caribbean port you wear insect repellant and you keep your balcony door closed, you have about as much a chance of catching this as you do winning Powerball.

 

CDC announced a case in Georgia this morning. The lady had recently visited Haiti.

 

Currently, the CDC has reported more than 60 confirmed cases of chikungunya in the U.S., but that number is growing. All U.S. patients infected with chikungunya have travel histories in areas where chikungunya is circulating.

 

Mike:)

Edited June 20, 2014 by bhopal21

[JustinPlusLauren]

I think it's better to be safe. It might depend on what kind of excursion you are taking as well ... is it through a rainforest, for instance. They might be more prevalent at night. I didn't see any mosquitos back in January in the Caribbean. I'm sure you would be fine but maybe bring some bug spray just in case.

 

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[sharpasice]

Here is a link for someone who DID get this while on a recent cruise...it's on the RCI boards but what does that matter...after reading this ..I bought Deet repellent off of Amazon...where a lot of the repellents were not even available anymore... http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2056587

[OCruisers]

Well we were in the Caribbean when all this first broke out. We went to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Grand Turk and never once saw a mosquito.

 

We were on that same cruise with you and never saw a mosquito either. :)

LuLu

[azbirdmom]

This news was breaking as we were about to leave for our 5 day cruise on the CB in May. I packed my Avon Skin so Soft towelettes and used them in Grand Cayman and Cozumel. On an excursion in Cayman, we noticed some giant mosquitos landing on some other people that were hastily swatted away, but thankfully my "Avon aura" kept them off me.

[caribill]

Do you think there is reason to worry about this or am I just being paranoid? We will be cruising the Caribbean and would rather not be infected.... Do you think mosquito repellant will keep any mosquitos carrying this away?

 

 

Since, as another post says, there have been 60 confirmed cases in the USA, I would worry about it in the USA as much as in the Caribbean as it has reached our shores from travelers to the Caribbean.