Chikungunya and Travel

jbars

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Jul 6, 2007
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I saw that there is another thread addressing the symptoms and suffering people are unfortunately enduring due to this virus. My question is a general one. Is this affecting widespread portions of the Dominican Republic? I am scheduled to travel there in early August, and have some concerns about this. Thank you all in advance.
 

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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no - not an epidemic......

whenthey talk about Dengue Deaths -- they talk about 110-120 annually -- out of 10,000,000

but certainly, wear bug repellent
 
Jun 18, 2007
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www.rentalmetrocountry.com
Nine out of ten people I know here had it, so did I as well as my daughter.
Read an article in a Suriname newspaper last week that they had the first case there. The patient was one who just returned from somewhere in the Caribbean.
Don't worry besides feeling bad for a couple of days you'll be fine
 
Aug 6, 2006
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The particular mosquitoes that carry this virus are said to be diurnal, that is, they tend to be active in the daytime.

By night, perhaps, they plot and scheme...

I think taking precautions all the time is advisable. Apply spray as directed, more often if you sweat a lot.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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i guess the south (SD and DN in particular) are the most affected due to being densely populated. i would not really worry about catching that while traveling, this is not a deadly disease. peasants from san cristobal have as much medical education as a roach so i would not pay attention to what they say. they will also swear they saw bruja flying on a broom and that opening a fridge after ironing will surely kill you. 3 confirmed victims all suffered from other conditions that contributed to their death, chikungunya was the last nail in the coffin, so to speak.
 

dv8

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being sick sucks but it is not as dangerous as dengue unless your immunity system is compromised by any other issue. we already have well over 100k cases but i do not think there were reports of tourists getting sick on regular.
 

dv8

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there is this dominican spray called desporte. kinda oily so spray a bit and then rub around. works better than off. it will take the paint off your car too. and polish off your wood furniture. but no mosquito bites. i prefer not to know what deadly chemicals are in that mixture but desperate times call for desperate measures.
 

LTSteve

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Jul 9, 2010
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Wear a hat and spray it with bug spray. Also around your ears and neck. The little buggors love to bit that area.
 

PJT

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Jan 8, 2002
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The mantra

I saw that there is another thread addressing the symptoms and suffering people are unfortunately enduring due to this virus. My question is a general one. Is this affecting widespread portions of the Dominican Republic? I am scheduled to travel there in early August, and have some concerns about this. Thank you all in advance.

You did not identify what area(s) you are traveling. The tourist areas, resorts, and private residentials are more attentive taking measures of fumigation and eliminating mosquito breeding locations. In most municipalities the anti mosquito measures are non-existent or haphazard. Municpalities that are connected get better service.

Daytime resorts visits you can rest easy with shorts and short sleeves, the evenings you cover up. If you venture off resort anytime, cover up, a good defense against bugs and TOOoooo much sun.

The mantra for anywhere you travel worldwide the best defense against mosquitos is the use of repellents and light colored clothing that covers all of the extremities.


Regards,

PJT
 

jbars

Active member
Jul 6, 2007
421
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You did not identify what area(s) you are traveling. The tourist areas, resorts, and private residentials are more attentive taking measures of fumigation and eliminating mosquito breeding locations. In most municipalities the anti mosquito measures are non-existent or haphazard. Municpalities that are connected get better service.

Daytime resorts visits you can rest easy with shorts and short sleeves, the evenings you cover up. If you venture off resort anytime, cover up, a good defense against bugs and TOOoooo much sun.

The mantra for anywhere you travel worldwide the best defense against mosquitos is the use of repellents and light colored clothing that covers all of the extremities.


Regards,

PJT

I will be on the North Coast and in Santiago,
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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it is present on the NC and in santiago. i'd risk saying that poorer areas are more affected due to accumulated basura but is not limited to those areas. spray, spray, spray. wear loose clothing that covers legs and arms. no reason to panic.
 
Aug 6, 2006
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It will spread most easily where there is standing water, where sick people can be bitten by mosquitoes and flit freely about. If you are in an air conditioned building, there is less likelihood that you will be bitten. If people stricken with this disease would also use repellent, the disease would not spread as rapidly.
 

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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South Coast
I have a question, or rather a supposition.

Maria or Jose is bit by the special type of mosquito that carries the virus, and get infected.

Now, here comes a regular garden variety mosquito, and bites one of them, then bites me with a teeny bit of their blood still in the stinger. Now I may have the virus too... right????

That's the only thing that makes sense to me, the way this virus is spreading like wildfire. There simply can't be thousands of those special dengue/chik mosquitos flying around carrying the diseases.
 

Mauricio

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Nov 18, 2002
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I have a question, or rather a supposition.

Maria or Jose is bit by the special type of mosquito that carries the virus, and get infected.

Now, here comes a regular garden variety mosquito, and bites one of them, then bites me with a teeny bit of their blood still in the stinger. Now I may have the virus too... right????

That's the only thing that makes sense to me, the way this virus is spreading like wildfire. There simply can't be thousands of those special dengue/chik mosquitos flying around carrying the diseases.

Official numbers talk about 50,000-100,000 cases. That would be 0.5 to 1% of the population. I think many people claiming to have chikunguya might have something else, between a mild headache to another virus. Everything that has fever or headache now says to have chikunguya.