... and speaking of ChickV

This last week, I made my regularly scheduled visit to our local Community Blood Center. As usual, there was yet another bulletin that had to be read regarding travel, medications, and conditions that might affect my acceptability as a donor.

This one was a bulletin about the occurrence and threat of Chickungunya in the Caribbean Basin. I chuckled because it was timely (we're coming home in mid-April). I must have thought it was pretty funny because I can't remember what the upshot of the bulletin was. I guess I'll have to take a closer look at the bulletin before my next donation.

That said, has ChickV been much of a problem of late in Negril and environs? I know that late in '14 there was a concerted effort island-wide to mitigate conditions that are amenable to the life cycle of the mosquito that bears the virus. I also recall that a few boardies had been infected. Has the tide turned on this?

I just want to know how many gallons of DEET to bring with us. ;-)

Back on Feb 7th, I wrote the follow on our Negril Message Board:

"The last new case any of us can remember happening in Negril was about 5 weeks ago. Since the contagious stage is limited in time (about 1 week), the mosquito needs to bite a contagious person to spread the virus. It would appear that no one is currently contagious so the virus has stopped spreading in Negril.

But it is still wise to use mosquito spray...."

http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...kungunya-virus

The Ministry of Health has also reported no new cases island wide. Since I wrote that over a month ago, and it was already at 5 weeks, there have been no new cases in Negril for two months now.

Come on down and have a great time. Still bring the spray you use as no one wants a mosquito bite... (grin)

Thanks Rob... I must have missed that post.

That's great news... hope that's not a seasonal thing and that the proactive mitigation efforts have worked! We will bring the spray, nonetheless!

How would the Ministry of Health know if any there were any new cases? If someone had ChickV and didn't get medical assistant in Negril or got sick when they got home, there would not be a report of it.

I had more mosquito bites this year than any other visit to Negril. Make sure to bring spray and use it diligently. Ensure there are screens on the windows and keep doors closed. We tend not to worry about using spray indoors but the mosquitos do come in. We also used mosquito coils whenever we went out on our balcony/patio. You just can't be too careful.

ChickV is a nasty virus and causes horrible pain to joints, headaches, fever, chills, fatigue, and muscle pain. Not the way you want to spend your vacation or go home with.

JahLove,

The Ministry of Health has given the "all clear" to the island as there has been no new reported cases of Chick V in over two months now. This is one of their jobs. It can only be spread if someone CURRENTLY contagious and for the last 2 months no one has been contagious. The spreading has stopped.

No one living here is worried about it as it a non-issue now. This is way chick-v spreads and then stops spreading.

The Liberians thought they were in the clear with ebola until the past week. Use your DEET!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marblehead

The Liberians thought they were in the clear with ebola until the past week. Use your DEET!

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What the hell has Ebola to do with Chick V?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marblehead

The Liberians thought they were in the clear with ebola until the past week. Use your DEET!

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So if I use deet I won't get Ebola?

Relax... I'll BRING the DEET... but I'll probably use the rum...

Been using more mosquito repellant than usual, but still getting eaten alive. Counted 20 bites per leg tonight. If ChickV is here, I'll let you know.

I've noticed biters around in the last week, after the recent rainfalls. 1st time I burn coil in a long time.

I have to weigh in on Chick V. My family and I were in Negril the week of March 22nd. My son and I both had mosquito bites. My son got sick the third day there with fever and flu like aches. He was better in two days but did have a rash on his body. We didn't think anything about it, and contributed it to the flu. I then got a rash the last day in Negril and when I returned home I also felt aches similar to the flu. I now believe we had Chick V from looking at our rash and comparing pictures on the CDC web site. My wife used bug spray and my son and I didn't. I would advise using bug spray. Although it wasn't the worst illness we ever had, it did put a damper on our trip for a day or two in Negril, and I lost a day of work upon my return. Again, it wasn't the worse but who wants to be sick on vacation?

Chikungunya, or Chick-V, is spread by infected mosquitoes, and they can only become infected by biting an infected and contagious person. A person can only be contagious for about a week. We have not heard of any cases in Negril or elsewhere on the island since the last week of January/first week of February. I am not discounting what you had, but there are the usual flus going around Negril like the ones in North America. Just yesterday I was talking with two Boardies who said "we probably brought it down" as one was still sick. Lisa (Bnewb) has been down this past week with the flu, and with it came a rash. But it was not Chick-V.

To quote a friend who contracted Chick-V back in December when it was at its height in Negril, "Chick-V is not something you think you have. You KNOW you have it." The most common symptoms are fever and severe joint pain, often in the hands and feet. If you felt normal flu-like aches, chances are you had the flu that has been going around town. Sorry about you both being sick, it does suck on vacation, but from your description, I think it sounds likes the same flu Lisa had.

You could be right but the rash my son had was different from anything else I ever saw. But all is well that ends well. We still had an awesome time in Negril and will be back next year Chick V or not.

Visited Mar 18-30 brought lots of bug repellant but still got a lot of bites. Was weird because we always brought repellant before but never used it and never got bites but anyway I was pretty paranoid about ChikV but inspite of the numerous bites we all got (Me , my wife and 8 and 3 yo daughters) none of us contracted it. Thank goodness because as I've heard it is not a pleasant experience and you would definately know if you had it!