Dengue Fever

[Robert T]

Hi all,

This is going to be our first visit during the wet season and we've read about the rising cases of the disease and wondering if it is a bad time to go?





Robert

[Ronald]

Hi Robert

I use to be in Tobago sometimes between June - August, and that´s the rains season. Mostly autbreaks of Dengue Fever are in Trinidad, they always have some there. In Tobago, normally there´s no problems, but that also depend a little bit of where you stay and the weather conditions.

I stay in Bon Accord in the south, and some years ago they had a small outbreak in Tobago so they cleaned all houses, drains and so forth into mostly areas. If one are staying further north, the rain forrest give more rain and more wet areas. In such a area is it necessary to keep the garden clean from things which can hold water. But, in the country side you always find some wet areas during the rain season.

Check the local newspapers via the Internet, they often tell you what´s going on, also posts from Tobago. Tobago do care about their visitors, so now a days they are more alert than before about possible Dengue Fever.

Ronald

[Andy K]

Robert,

when i am in Tobago these days, and beacuse of the increased dengue threat, i use OFF insect repellant to rub my skin with, i use GOOD KNIGHT insect repellant evaporators in the bedroom, i burn "cock sets" in porch and living room and i occasionally spray dark curtains, dark luggage etc. with SURETOX or BAYGON.

So far that does the job.

You may want to adjust the measures to suit, dependent on the number of mossies and the time in the day.
There is definetly "mossies alarm" from 5 pm.

Have a safe trip.

[John Y]

Hi,
I was in Castara the first two weeks of August. About a week into our stay, the health dept sprayed every house with insecticide across the whole of Tobago because there were cases of Dengue in Charlotteville as well as Trinidad. The mosquito population definitely dropped quite a lot after this, though I have no idea if this was enough to stop the disease spreading.

John

[Robert T]

Ronald, Andy, John


Thanks a lot for the info and the tips. I guess we're just gonna have to spray ourselves and the surroundings often.

Still 4 weeks to go so the situation might just improve a little.

Robert

[Jackie]

Hi,
Does any one know how high the risk of catching dengue fever is at the minute on Tobago ?
Thanks Jackie

[Andy K]

Dengue does not have epidemic proportions these days in Trinidad, and Tobago is even less affected.
As we getting closer to the dry season (with significant delay this year), mosquito activity should decrease
significantly from now on.

Have a good trip !

[Boergen]

Dengue Fever is dangerous disease and we should have knowledge about it.thanks for sharing such a valuable information about it.I really need it.

[Ronald]

There´s no vaccinations a.s.o. against Dengue, so if one live or visit such areas, one have to know how to protect oneself. But there´s not much such mosquitos in Tobago, mostly sometimes up in the north where you find more forrest. In the south they are not seen very often at all.

Personell mosqutio protections of different types are always good . But it s also a fact, that some peoples are more attractive for mosquitos, we give out different types of chemicals. Some peoples prefer typ XX and other YY, it can be different from person to person, and sometimes also depending wher you are and if it´s rainseason or not.

But in you feel that you are at the risk:
- if there´s a lot of mosquitos in the area, use good personell mosquito protection
- also, use spray inside sometimes and a mosquito net during the night
- burn some these coils you find into supermarkets during the afternoon and during the night
- if you live into, or rent, a house, keep the garden clean from junk
- make sure there are no bottles, glasses or similars wich can be filled with water
- make sure that there are no big flowers wich can hold water
- make sure that the ditch which transport water out from the property is clean, no graas etc
- also, make sure that ditches outside the garden are clean so the water does not stand still
- use common sence, and ask local in the area, and of course, write questions on myTobago.info

[GervaisAlkins]

Hey Ronald,
as far as I'm aware there is no proof that there is more mosquitoes in the north of Tobago than in the south. A few years ago when there was a dengue outbreak in Tobago I recall that there were cases reported all over the island. Dengue seemed to spread more in urban areas than in rural areas.I can say this based on first hand experience because my ex- and myself contratced dengue that year and we lived in Buccoo Village.I knew many people in Buccoo, Mt Pleasant and Crown Point who got Dengue and also a few persons in Charlotteville. Friends of mine who lived in Friendship Estate (aka Mosquito Paradise) still had the usual plethora of Mozzies but not a single person there got Dengue Fever.

[Ronald]

Yes, you mught be right when talking about Dengue, but over all, more rain forrest means more insects, more forrest create more smaller wet points as there´s more rain there.

Around Bucco, as the soputh is rather flat, you have quite a lot of wet areas, and myself have sometimes seen heavvy actions around Bon Accord too, as the land is quite flat, so water stand still there. They clean up much more and better now a days compared with min 90´s.

So what I´d write was not ONLY for Dengue mosquitos, it was for mosquitos in common. If peoples only protect one self when they read "Dengue" in the paper, than they aren´t prepared if/when it happens. Locals know that, but visitors is common might not know.

[Ronald]

Maybe I should also say, for those who do not know, theres four different types of Dengue gever. The mosquito itself, Aedes genus, principally A. aegypti, are always present in both Trinidad and Tobago, but the number of mosquitos and the aoutbreak does differ a lot from year to year and also, of course, from area to area.

Trinidad are much more affected compared with Tobago, but that doesn´t mean there´s no such mosquitos in Tobago. The number of cases per year are different from year to year and it also depends where one stay/live, and it also depend on the season, dry or wet season.

It´s also so, that peoples react different from each other, some has a lot of problems with mosquitos, some not. It might even be so, that some has been under attack by that Aedes aegypti, without knowing that. And there´s no vaccine against it. For those who are interested, I include some general information about Dengue fever here, this will also be my last post here on this.

Dengue fever, also known as breakbone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles. In a small proportion of cases the disease develops into the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, resulting in bleeding, low levels of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage, or into dengue shock syndrome, where dangerously low blood pressure occurs.

Dengue is transmitted by several species of mosquito within the Aedes genus, principally A. aegypti. The virus has four different types; infection with one type usually gives lifelong immunity to that type, but only short-term immunity to the others. Subsequent infection with a different type increases the risk of severe complications. As there is no vaccine, prevention is sought by reducing the habitat and the number of mosquitoes and limiting exposure to bites.

Treatment of acute dengue is supportive, using either oral or intravenous rehydration for mild or moderate disease, and intravenous fluids and blood transfusion for more severe cases. Apart from eliminating the mosquitoes, work is ongoing on a vaccine, as well as medication targeted directly at the virus.