Caribbean Travel Health Alert: Untreatable mosquito-borne virus threatens tourism

More than 25 million tourists visited the Caribbean in 2013, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization. It’s the most tourism-dependent area in the world.

The French island of Reunion, in the Indian Ocean, saw tourism drop 60 percent after an outbreak of Chikungunya in 2005-2006.

Now Tourism in the Caribbean may be in for a serious threat. Chikungunya is an untreatable mosquito-borne virus and it’s spreading across the Caribbean. It has affected more than 4,600 people in a little over six months, according to a reports from the Pan American Health Organization. Never before seen in the Americas, the disease has officials and businesses very worried about the islands’ vital tourism industry.

What is the current situation?
In December 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported local transmission of chikungunya in Saint Martin. Local transmission means that mosquitoes in the area have been infected with chikungunya and are spreading it to people. This is the first time that local transmission of chikungunya has been reported in the Americas.

What is chikungunya?
Chikungunya is an illness caused by a virus that spreads through mosquito bites. The most common symptoms of chikungunya are fever and joint pain. Other symptoms may include headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rash.

Who is at risk?
Travelers who go to these islands in the Caribbean are at risk of getting chikungunya. In addition, travelers to Africa, Asia, and islands in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific are also at risk, as the virus is present in many of these areas. The mosquito that carries chikungunya virus can bite during the day and night, both indoors and outdoors, and often lives around buildings in urban areas.

What can travelers do to prevent chikungunya?
There is currently no vaccine or medicine to prevent chikungunya. Travelers can protect themselves by preventing mosquito bites.

Local transmission of chikungunya is now being reported in other countries in the Caribbean. As of June 17, 2014, the following Caribbean countries have reported cases of chikungunya:

Anguilla
Antigua
British Virgin Islands
Dominica
Dominican Republic
French Guiana
Guadeloupe
Guyana
Haiti
Martinique
Puerto Rico
Saint Barthelemy
Saint Kitts
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin (French)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Sint Maarten (Dutch)
Turks and Caicos Islands
US Virgin Islands

The Caribbean Tourism Tndustry is concerned.A statement from Dr. James Hospedales, executive director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency, “We have been working with the Caribbean Tourism Organization on some of the communications messages because you have to be truthful and honest in informing the population, but on the other hand you can’t cause alarm and panic.”

“It has not been here before, so people are susceptible, there is no resistance and we have had a lot of the mosquitoes that transmit it,” he said.

The Chikungunya virus is a mosquito-borne infection similar to Dengue fever. The first cases of this outbreak were reported in December 2013 on the French side of St. Martin, and it has spread to 19 countries across the region, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends that travelers protect themselves from mosquito bites in these areas.

As yet there is no cure for the disease. Though it’s not fatal, it causes fever, pain, fatigue and can lead to chronic joint pain. Originally discovered in Tanzania in the 1950s, it hasn’t been documented in the Americas until now.

It needs to be said, even though the Caribbean is the the most tourism-dependent area in the world, yet only has a market share of roughly 1 percent of all tourists, according to Lorraine Nicholas, Tourism Program Officer at the Organization of East Caribbean States, who spoke about the need for cooperation.

Though there have been some reported cases in the United States, doctors aren’t concerned about an outbreak on the US mainland.