Dengue fever is a problem throughout the Caribbean this year.
I think all islands are affected.
The mosquito that gives you dengue bites only during the dy, something which many people do not know.

Read this blog for up to date information on dengue in various islands.

http://woodshedenvironment.wordpress.com/

Sorry to hear about your experience, I hear Dengue is pretty painful. Probably not what you had in mind when planning your trip to St. Barth's.

Before leaving the country, always good to check the CDC's site. Looks like there has been a travel advisory re: Dengue since September, 2007.

http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/destinationGuadeloupe.aspx#notices

Curious....

Did you actually have a blood test diagnosing you with Dengue fever?

From my experience, doctors hand it out as a diagnosis rather easily.

A friend of mine was signed off work for a week with Dengue, and was better the following day.

The Dengue mosquitoe bites at dawn and dusk, not in the day.

The Caribbean has had it all the way from Jamaica to Trinidad and Tobago this year. Did you see any kind of mosquito control? I would think there would be active involvement of the community on St. Bart's.

We are awaiting results from a blood test to confirm the Dengue. It takes a few days for the blood culture.

Our regular doctor diagnosed it first after testing us for the flu which we didn't have. Other than the high fever (as high as 104), we had no other flu symptoms. But our blood pressure was very low as well as other low blood counts (white blood count, platelets, etc.) which are indicators for Dengue. After seeing our doctor, we immediately went to an infectious disease doctor who was able to diagnose it.

We saw no sign of any Mosquito control, but when we were waiting to fly back to St. Maarten, we talked to a number of people that also felt there was a mosquito problem.

Thankfully, we didn't get sick until we got home so we were able to have a great vacation and deal with all of this at home.

I would be interested in the results of your test.

As I say, doctors seem to hand out the diagnosis willy nilly.

It is a very handy way of getting signed off work, if you are that way inclined.

I have little doubt as to the result of their tests. I have a family member that has been in bed in St Barts for the past nine days. This is legit but it doesn't seem to be heavily publicized.

When a doctor says that it is Dengue Fever it is Dengue fever. Until the facts are in you're guessing. Maybe you just got sun stroke or overly tired out enjoying your vacation. When the test results are in, please post them. It's only fair.

That's terrible! I have never heard of this disease. Someone said that it's only during the day that you have to worry about getting it? Is that right? This really worries me because I get mosquito bites very easy. I'm going to Bequia in late April/early March. Do I need to be worried going there? Also, by using something w/Deet does this totally protect you? Thanks!

To repeat, the Dengue mosquito. bites at dawn and dusk, not in the day.

Ankles are a preferred target.

They are the slow dopey ones with long dangly striped legs, as opposed to the nippy little black ones who hover about in front of your face, while their partner bites you behind the knees (true!).

Deet does work, and given that most people are in bed at dawn, limited risk, and in the evening a shot of OFF, or long trousers wards them off.

There is a lot of hysteria about Dengue; The nasty variety is very rare, and for the others, symptoms can vary from nothing at all, to being laid up for a week or so.

The flu is more dangerous, as is malaria (clearly) and you will find no west nile virus, ebola or lymes disease in the Caribbean, all of which are present in the US, as is the Black Death (Bubonic Plague), and drug resitant tubeculosis.

Take precautions and don't worry about it.

We don't!

To JR Hartley,
First of all, the tests for Dengue were positive for both myself and my wife. I don't know what gives you the right to question my doctors, but we went to both our regular doctor and an infectious disease doctor and they both diagnosed it.
Second of all, NEVER downplay someone else's sickness. I am not trying to gain sympathy regarding our illness, but was wondering if anyone else had experienced the Mosquito problems that we did. In fact, I said that we had a great vacation and were thankful we didn't get sick until we got home.
And I don't know what you are talking about regarding a lot of hysteria about Dengue - A lot of people don't even know what it is.

Giants,

No offence to your doctors. I live on St Barts and have seen people diagnosed with Dengue that turn out not to have it.

Similarly, I am sorry you got sick, and sincerely hope you are better.

Regarding the hysteria, there is a lot of chat and scaremongering on St Barts specific forums about Dengue.

Dengue epidemic: Nobody Dead: kind of headlines.

It has indeed been wet for a while, so there are mosquitoes, however if you find a 'plague' of them, it is generally a man made problem. A pail left right-side up, a blocked gutter, even chip packets allow them to breed.

If a local finds they have mosquitoes around their house, you will find them looking for where they are breeding, rather than spraying toxic chemicals.

to Giants2005
Hope you and your wife get better very quickly. Thank you for warning the readers on this forum. Its a good thing JR Hartley apologized to you because I think he would have been blasted by many readers like myself for being insensitive and sarcastic. By the way JR, I don't think it was necessary to let readers think Bubonic Plague is an issue in the US. This is utterly ridiculous. Giants2005 was not trying to criticize your homeland so why place fear in others about the US which may or may not be where Giants2005 is from. I am a New Yorker and was offended by your remarks.
Anyway, for those truly concerned about the disease, I cut and pasted this from the CDC website under the link to travel warnings - because my son is travelling to St. Maartin in 2 weeks.
http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentDengueTropicalSubTropical.aspx

The virus warning is for the whole Caribbean area among other places in the world.

" Prevention Measures for Travelers
No vaccine is available to prevent dengue, and there is no specific treatment other than therapeutic support. Travelers can reduce their risk by protecting themselves from mosquito bites:

Use insect repellent containing DEET or Picaridin on exposed skin. DEET concentrations of 30% to 50% are effective for several hours. Picaridin, available in 7% and 15% concentrations, must be applied more frequently. When using sunscreen, apply it before insect repellent.
DEET formulations as high as 50% are recommended for both adults and children over 2 months of age. Protect infants less than 2 months of age by using a carrier draped with mosquito netting with an elastic edge for a tight fit.
Wear loose, long pants and long-sleeved shirts when outdoors.
Indoors, spray insecticide where the Aedes mosquito likes to linger: closets, behind curtains, and under beds. If practical, empty or cover containers containing water.
Air conditioned, screened rooms furnished with mosquito nets provide further protection.
Empty or cover containers that can collect water (e.g., uncovered barrels, flower vases, or cisterns), because mosquitoes that transmit dengue breed in standing water.
Aedes mosquitoes, the principal mosquito vector, usually are active at dusk and dawn, but may feed at any time during the day, especially indoors, in shady areas, or when the weather is cloudy. Unlike malaria, dengue is often transmitted in urban as well as in rural areas."


I love the Caribbean. At least we should all go with knowledge of how to protect ourselves. Thank you again Giants2005.

Barbara1 on this thread suggested this site which I also found very interesting. Thanks Barbara
http://woodshedenvironment.wordpress.com/

Giants2005: Thanks for the warning. We're taking a day trip to St. Barts this month and mosquitoes love my son and me. We'll make sure to protect ourselves.

My husband and I were in Maui 7 years ago during a Dengue outbreak. I remember being really concerned because I was 4 months pregnant (we didn't know much about the disease). Despite many mosquito bites, I didn't get it, thank goodness.

Hope you both feel better soon.

Dear Giants2005,

Can you get in touch with me? I work for a production company in London, we're working on an infomercial on Dengue and we'd love to speak to you.

My contact details are... george@3c-films.com (02078613915)

Many Thanks,

George Young

i'm glad you posted this giants2005. it's a good reminder for anyone going to the islands.
i live in maine. each spring we have 2+months of mosquitoes & the exceedingly annoying black fly. the hands down, no others even compete best bug spray you can buy is called Ben's. handy as it comes in a small container you can take in carryon if you wish. it's available locally here, but if you can't find it, here's a link http://www.long-grass.com/products/detail/bens_100_insect/