Malaria risk heightened in Jamaica and Goa
Agents and operators are being urged to highlight a heightened risk of malaria to clients travelling to Jamaica and Goa.
The National Travel Health Network and Centre has issued an update about malaria in both destinations on its website.
It said Jamaica’s Ministry of Health has heightened malaria surveillance and introduced control measures after reports of a case of plasmodium falciparum malaria in a resident of Kingston, Jamaica – the second case to be reported in this area in the last few weeks.
An outbreak, which was first reported in Kingston in December 2006 and involved 370 cases, was thought to have been subsiding.
Although malaria prevention tablets are not recommended, travellers to Jamaica, in particular to the Kingston area, should be aware of the possible risk and protect themselves against evening and night-time biting mosquitoes.
Meanwhile, there has been a rise in malaria among residents in Goa in the first six months of 2007 with 788 cases compared to 240 during the same period in 2006.
There has also been a cluster of malaria cases among UK travellers who visited Goa between December 2006 and March 2007 and cases of other European travellers as recently as August.
Agents were urged to recommend malaria prevention tablets for travellers visiting Goa, particularly those visiting areas north of Panaji and those who will be remote from medical care
A spokesman for ABTA said: “Under our Code of Conduct, members need to inform clients of health requirements that are compulsory for the journeys to be undertaken, and also advise clients travelling abroad to check recommended practice with their GP, practice nurse, or travel health clinic.”
For full details go to http://nathnac.org/pro/clinical_updates/
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By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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