Latest travel worries: rabies and bubonic plague
If you thought all your worries about travel involved missed planes and perhaps more serious subjects such as terrorism, consider rabies….and believe it or not, bubonic plague.
Wire services say a “rabies epidemic” has killed 78 people in the past two years and caused the US to issue warnings to travelers to Bali.
If that was not bad enough, officials confirm that number of 78 may be much higher.
“The Indonesian government says it’s overwhelmed, with more than 30,000 dog bites reported in just the first half of this year across Bali. In a highly criticized move, officials killed about 200,000 dogs, instead of initially conducting mass vaccinations as recommended by the World Health Organization,” according to the AP.
"We have a serious problem with the anti-rabies vaccine for humans … we are very short of treatment across the island," said Nyoman Sutedja, chief of Bali’s provincial health ministry, who expects all stocks to run out by next month. "We need help."
Several countries, including the United States and Australia, have issued travel warnings advising vacationers to consider getting pre-exposure rabies vaccinations before arriving and to avoid contact with dogs while in Bali. A handful of foreign tourists have reported dog bites, but none have been fatal.
Rabies kills some 55,000 people annually — mostly children — with nearly 60 percent of those deaths from dog bites in Asia, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The disease still exists in the U.S., but human deaths are extremely rare. Nearly all bites occur from wild animals, such as raccoons or bats.
As for the bubonic plague — last heard from as devastating much of Europe in the Middle Ages — it has returned to Peru, where health officials say an outbreak in the north has killed a teenage boy and infected at least three dozen more.
Don’t worry too much, however, because the disease is curable with antibiotics if symptoms are detected early enough.
By David Wilkening
David
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements