Xmas Is fever

[B Kane]

There is an out break of dengue and chicken fever on Xmas is. now. If you're planning on going soon better check it out. Friends of mine found out too late to cancel without losing airfare and cost of the trip so they took a chance and made it through incubation period ok. Call your travel agent. Nobody has mentioned it so it might not be very serious.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Frontier Travel in Wexford, Pennsylvania might be a good place to call.

[TheAnglingReport]

Did you hear any updates about the outbreak? Hopefully it was not a serious one.

[Baja Fly Fisher]

I just email Dylan Rose of Fly Water Travel to find out about the outbreak. We are going in March 2016. Our trip is still a ways out

Here's his response to my question

Hi Jay,

I'm not aware of any issues with Degue fever.

We did hear about the outbreak of Chikungunya. These cases were only at lodges that are positioned in town on the lagoon side (Ikari House and Villages). None of our clients have reported any instances of sickness or Chikungunya. Christmas Island Outiftters is outside of town, on the ocean. There are less mosquitos and better ocean breezes out on the beach.

I'm taking some Aussie bug juice called Bushman. It pretty much keeps all bugs away. I gave some to a friend of mine who went to Alaska and he got very few bites

Jay

[johnsquires]

Jay, I like the fact that Bushman has sunscreen in the mix. Jungle Juice is what I use in Alaska - it has more DEET than Bushman. Comes in a small container, so it would be good as a backup.

[Baja Fly Fisher]

where can you buy it

[johnsquires]

where can you buy it

REI or online.

[JWilli]

I would caution use of repellent/sunscreen combinations. I am not a physician, but have looked into this issue. I refer you to the following article published by The Skin Cancer Institute:
http://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/ask-the-experts/would-it-be-better-to-use-a-product-that-combines-insect-repellent-and-sunscreen-or-two-different-products#.VXIDTvSa_ww.mailto

Stay safe,
John

[dynaflow]

I just email Dylan Rose of Fly Water Travel to find out about the outbreak. We are going in March 2016. Our trip is still a ways out.
Here's his response to my question.Quote:"Hi Jay,I'm not aware of any issues with Degue(sic)fever.We did hear about the outbreak of Chikungunya. These cases were only at lodges that are positioned in town on the lagoon side (Ikari House and Villages). None of our clients have reported any instances of sickness or Chikungunya. Christmas Island Outiftters is outside of town, on the ocean. There are less mosquitos and better ocean breezes out on the beach."Jay
Just discovered this,and there's some misinformation contained therein.Yes there's no Dengue Fever,and the few cases of the African based Chikungunya virus(which is all through the western Pacific btw)have been confined to the indigenous population and those lodges that are closer to the airport and the stagnant small lagoons,like the Villages.Please note that Ikari House is in the village of London some distance away and close to the harbour and lagoon entrance,and with absolutely no mosquito problems.I can count the numbers of mosquitos I've seen there on two hands,and that's after ten fortnightly trips over the past nine years.Incidentally,I don't use Bushman insect repellant as it's too strong, and once that smell is anywhere near your Bonefish flies you're on a handicap from the get go...trust me.

[TheAnglingReport]

From the July issue of The Angling Report:

If you are looking for a reason to not
go on a fishing trip, it’s pretty easy to accomplish
that. All you have to do is surf
the web long enough and hard enough
and you can scare yourself out of doing
almost anything. Witness the post that
appeared recently about an outbreak of
dengue on Christmas Island. Actually,
the poster had the wrong disease. What
has emerged on Christmas Island is not
dengue but chikungunya, which is similar
to dengue but almost never fatal the way
dengue can be. Most people recover fairly
quickly from chikungunya, though it can,
in rare instances, produce severe joint
pain that can last for months, even years.
The post appears on a forum hosted
by Kiene’s Fly Shop in Sacramento,
California. It reads: “There is an outbreak
of dengue on Xmas Island. If you’re
planning on going soon, better check it
out. Friends of mine found out too late to
cancel without losing airfare and cost of
the trip, so they took a chance and made
it through incubation period ok. Call your
travel agent. Nobody has mentioned it so
it might not be very serious.”
So, what is our reading on this? Well,
chikungunya is not a pleasant disease
by any means, but you can prevent it by
avoiding mosquito bites. That means you
should use repellent and wear long-sleeve
shirts and long pants, not shorts, except
when you are safely on a flat, away from
places where mosquitoes breed and congregate.
As this is written, the outbreak
seems to be subsiding anyway. Here is
how Howard McKinney of Fishabout.
Inc. (www.fishabout.com) described the
situation. As managing director of The
Villages of Christmas Island, McKinney
keeps close tabs on things like this:
“There were four cases of mosquito
illness with anglers at The Villages the
week of April 6. The cases have been
medically diagnosed as chikungunya (not
dengue). There has not been another case
of the disease among our guests since
then, because we immediately advised all
incoming anglers to wear long pants and
long sleeves at dawn and dusk and to use
repellant, especially on feet and ankles.
We had an abnormally rainy February,
March, and April on Christmas Island this
year, and that seems to have caused mosquitoes
(which are not normally present)
to appear in significant numbers. Most
of the islanders contracted the disease, as
they sleep with no screens in their homes.
The form of the virus that emerged on
Christmas Island caused symptoms such
as fever and joint pain for two to five
days. With the rain now subsiding, I
expect the chances of contracting the disease
to decline along with the fall in the
number of mosquitoes. Worried would-be
visitors to the island can get more information
on the disease at http://www.cdc.
gov/chikungunya/...”
You get the picture. Everyone has a
different tolerance for risk. Personally, I
wouldn’t consider passing up a chance
to go to Christmas Island because of the
small chance of getting chikungunya.—
Don Causey