THINKING ahead to your holiday plans, what worries you the most: the idea of missing your flight, losing your luggage – or coming down with a tropical disease?
New research indicates that in the last 10 years almost half of UK-based travellers have visited at least one spot where deadly dengue fever is found.
Research by Takeda UK shows that most British travellers didn’t think researching local diseases were a priority when making holiday plans
But most were more concerned about losing their luggage (35 per cent), flight delays (33 per cent), transport arrangements (32 per cent) and food poisoning (22 per cent) than getting bitten by mosquitoes (16 per cent) or contracting a tropical disease (14 per cent) while on holiday.
And only 1 in 10 thought researching local diseases were a priority when making travel plans.
Dengue is spread by mosquito bites and can cause muscle and joint pain and severe headaches to those infected – it’s not usually serious but some can be struck down by a more severe form of the infection.
It’s endemic to regions such as the Caribbean, Singapore, Thailand and the Pacific Islands, which 46 per cent of British travellers have visited at some point in the past decade, according to research from Takeda UK.
But almost half (43 per cent) of the holidaymakers surveyed admitted they haven’t heard of dengue and only 1 in 10 were aware of how to protect themselves from contracting it.
Cases of the mosquito-borne infection have also popped up in places where dengue hasn’t been transmitted before. These holiday spots will sound familiar to British tourists: party city Ibiza in Spain and Nice in the south of France.
Though Europe’s climate has historically not be hospitable to Asian tiger mosquitoes – the pests carrying dengue – but warmer temperatures and tourism to be changing that, setting the scene for possible further outbreaks.
President of the British Global and Travel Health Association, Dr. George Kassianos, has now urged UK and Irish holidaymakers to seek travel health advice as soon as their holiday is booked so they’re fully prepped before their trip abroad.
Dr. Kassianos said: “Although the UK and Ireland are not endemic countries, more than 800 UK holidaymakers had their trips disrupted by dengue in 2019, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, with all reported cases imported from popular holiday destinations.
“One of the greatest drivers of the disease is climate change and particularly global warming,” he went on to explain.
“The rise in temperatures is making it possible for mosquitoes to live and breed in wider territories – including areas within southern Europe, exposing travellers from the UK and Ireland to dengue in popular holiday destinations.”
He emphasised the importance of British travellers get health advice and research whether they might be at risk of dengue before travelling.
This is particularly the case they’re jetting off to tropical or subtropical areas, Dr Kassianos said.
He added awareness of how to reduce the risk of mosquito bites was just as crucial.
Dengue is the fastest-spreading mosquito-borne disease and was recognised by the World Health Organization in 2019 as one of the top ten threats to global health.
How can I protect myself from dengue fever?
According to Dr Kassianos: “You can reduce your chances of contracting dengue and other mosquito-borne infections by taking some simple precautions, such as using appropriate insect repellent and covering exposed skin with loose-fitting clothing.
“I’d also encourage people to seek travel health advice from a GP, pharmacist or local travel clinic well in advance of planned trips to a dengue endemic region,” he added.
“Dengue isn’t usually life-threatening, and the majority of cases are asymptomatic, but it can sometimes leave you bed-ridden and feeling very unwell. Symptoms can last for around a week, which could disrupt your holiday plans.”
Takeda UK and Takeda Products Ireland has launched ‘Explore Uninterrupted’, a campaign to raise awareness of dengue among UK and Irish travellers and help educate them on how to avoid mosquito bites.
What are the symptoms of dengue?
Dengue doesn’t always cause symptoms but if you have them, they usually start four to 10 days after you’re bitten by a disease carrying mosquito.
Some symptoms are similar to the flu and they include:
a high temperature
a severe headache
pain behind your eyes
muscle and joint pain
feeling or being sick
swollen glands
a blotchy rash made up of flat or slightly raised spots – this can affect large areas of your body
Some people get a more severe type of dengue a few days after they first started feeling ill, but this is rare, according to the NHS.
They include:
severe tummy pain
repeatedly being sick
fast breathing
bleeding gums or nose
extreme tiredness (fatigue)
being unable to relax (restlessness)
blood in your vomit or poo
According to NHS guidance, the best way to protect yourself from the infection if you’re in a country where it’s found is to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.
You should wear long-sleeved clothing and trousers to cover your arms and legs, particularly during early morning and early evening.
Be liberal with insect repellent – choose one that ideally contains the ingredient DEET.
Where possible, keep windows and doors closed or use blinds and screens.
And sleep under a mosquito net treated with insecticide, including during the day.
Explore uninterrupted also added that Keep any water containers in and around your accommodation clean and empty, and keep bottles of drinking water tightly closed, as mosquitoes lay their eggs in water.
These precautions can reduce the chance mosquitoes laying their eggs.