01 May 2009

Caribbean tourism issues swine flu advice

Caribbean nations are closely monitoring the effects of swine flu although there are currently no identifiable cases among the 33 Caribbean Tourism Organisation member countries.

CTO council of minister chairman John Maginley advised travellers planning visits to the Caribbean to visit the websites of individual member nations for information on individual policies and screening procedures relating to prevention of the virus.

He said: "As has been reported, regional health officials have been meeting to determine a strategy to deal with the swine flu virus after outbreaks were reported in Mexico, the United States, Canada and Europe.

"The CTO has been in contact with the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre, the Pan American Health Organisation and the World Health Organisation, as well as with member countries as we gather information and review the global situation.

"While the swine flu virus has not been reported in the Caribbean, member countries have already begun adopting measures for greater surveillance to prevent the virus from spreading to the region."

The CTO’s Web site, www.onecaribbean.org provides updated information from member countries and links to the PAHO (www.paho.org) site, as well as the World Health Organisation (www.who.int/en) and Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu).

Maginley said the CTO will continue to monitor the global situation closely.

In the meantime, he recommended that travellers should follow simple guidelines to help prevent the spread of the virus, including:

If you are experiencing respiratory illness, avoid travel and contact your health care provider
wash hands frequently to lessen the spread of respiratory illness

Avoid close contact with people who are coughing or appear ill

Cover coughs and sneezes

Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth