The hazards of traveling

The other day Susan and I walking over to a nearby Chinese restaurant for lunch. After lunch we each got a fortune cookie. Mine had the following fortune: “You will step foot on the soil of many countries.” Well, that’s a fortune that I like. In the past few years I have had te pleasure of traveling in Canada, Mexico and Panama. Over the years I also went to Spain, Morocco, Bahamas and Costa Rica. Obviously there’s a lot of the world left to see.

Whenever I travel to the tropics I first check with the CDC to check on any vaccinations that I might need. Since I will be going to Brazil next year I thought that this might be important.

I’m not worried about zika virus since I am not, nor will ever be pregnant. Nor am I worried about malaria since there are prophylactics that I can take. Dengue fever virus is a bit more bothersome. My father was hospitalized after contracting dengue in the South Pacific during World War II. It took him close to two years to fully recover. With no current vaccination for the disease and since it is mosquito-borne there is always the possibility of contracting the disease. So far I have been fortunate.

There is a virus that I had never heard about that is becoming more prevalent in the Americas – Oropouche virus or sloth fever. This virus was first seen near the Oropouche River in Trinidad in 1955 and has now been seen in most South American countries and as far north as Cuba.

The symptoms include sudden fever, chills and muscle aches (so far similar to the onset of dengue), but can also include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain.

In 2024 there have been over 8,000 cases – only a few were hospitalized and two died. So far there have been 21 cases in the U.S., but all were contracted in Cuba. There is no known local transmission in the U.S.

It is typically seen in forested areas where mosquitoes are the transmission vector passing it on to mammals such as sloths, primates and rodents. In urban areas transmission is mostly due to biting midges.

AN important thing to remember is to not use NSAIDS, such as aspirin for the aches or fever. This might lead to bleeding and a more sever case of the disease.

Knowledge is important when traveling to exciting destinations.

More later…