myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

HI there,

My family and I are booked to come to Tobago for a much needed break in March. I was wondering if anyone could help with regards to information on the Zika Virus. There is a chance that I could be pregnant, or at least we are trying for a baby. I have been reading some big international health websites and all of them say to avoid traveling to the Carribbean if pregnant or wanting to conceive. What do locals and tourists say about Zika on Tobago and Trinidad? Sometimes things are different on the ground. Any advice from the island would be very much appreciated.
thank you

Hello Clemmie

Welcome aboard!

Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases are a problem throughout the tropics. However, the fact that nobody immediately replied to your post is telling. The fact is that we all know it is out there and a possibility, but it is not a condition that everyone is talking about or knows a huge amount about. There's not many things that the local government do get right, but their anti-mosquito spraying program does seem to have been very effective.

The bottom line is that there are no guarantees. So, it is either a case of avoiding ANY tropical destination, or taking good precautions. By precaution, I mean ensure that you give yourself a liberal spraying with a good anti-mosquito deterrent several times a day. We use and recommend Jungle Formula Maximum Aerosol Insect Repellent, but the locally-available brands of Off! and Go! are also very good (avoid the 'Family' size bottles as they have a much lower DEET content and only last an hour or so).

I hope this helps and wish I could give you a cast-iron solution, but there simply isn't one. However, I have no evidence that Zika is a big problem on Tobago and therefore feel confident to say that with regular sensible spraying of repellent, you will have a wonderful break on Tobago.

Hi all,

Steve is very right in what he says. An other little strange thing is, it is not ALWAYS more mosquitos in wetlands, in Tobago you do have some swampy areas.

I have been realding of an area into a country, do not remember wich country, not a wet land area at all, but there were a lot of mosquitso there. Why? Because there were a lot of humans there, "good fresh food" for mosquitos and a lot of empty buckets filled with water to live into!

So just because one live into or nearby a city, or country area, does not means it is 100 % safe at all. So Steve´s advice to use protections is a very good one.
At home in Sweden, likr into my grand fathers place, we could not bee outdoor at all into the evening! And he was living on a hillside of a mountain area!

So use insects spray for your safety, it is not only zika, there are also Dengue-mosquitos in some areas. I would check with peoples in the area, they can tell if it is a problem there.