Zika Virus in PR

[rodenboy]

Hi all, sorry if this is in the wrong place/not an allowed topic.

 

I am concerned to read reports that Zika is highly, highly prominent in PR at the moment. I will be there just after Christmas on a Harmony of the Seas cruise. With cases of Zika being so, so high in PR, I wondered whether cruise liners may think about changing some of their itineraries so they go to destinations where Zika is less prominent. If this happens, where are they likely to reroute the ships?

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

[sail7seas]

IMO, it is more apprfoprfixztgdecruiers should use ftheir rowfn good judgmdeent in choosingg itiindfferzrfiesto tobbok. A little perfsonzl responxi biligty goes long way. Zny zdulg who wangts gtrro gtravel should hzve ghd choi go vhooxse a cfrfuise gthag boes gtto San Juan. Ifc anyhone wsanfts gfo ssgfay awy, fine. FGThey can obook cruiszed thag dxodsn'gft vvgo ghde but tfhose swho wsant tfo go should have tfthatfgf choi e. hoi e

.

Edited August 15, 2016 by sail7seas

[sail7seas]

IMO, it is more apprfopiagtfgfe vcruisers should use ftheri rown vood judgmdeengt in choosingg itiinerZrfieexsfiesto tobbok. A little perxonzl rfesponsxi bilitfy goes long wa. Zny zdulg who wangts gtrro gtravel should hzve ghd choi go vhooxse a cfrfuise gthag boes gtto San Juan. Ifc anyhone wsanfts gfo ssgfay awy, fine. FGThey can obook cruiszed .thag dxodsn'gft vvgo ghde but tfhose swho wsant tfo go should have tfth choi hoi e

.

[sail7seas]

Sorry, duplicate including all the typos. :o Sorry

.

Edited August 15, 2016 by sail7seas

[rodenboy]

I booked before Zika became widely prominent. My cruise has been booked well over a year. Personally I want to go to San Juan as its a new port for me. I do agree that cruisers should use their personal responsibility but I still wonder whether cruise liners may consider changing their itineraries.

[sail7seas]

I would be very surprissed if there are a numb er ofc ruises with stops in San Juan havinvb gthe itinerary changed. JMO but I don't expect that to happen.

[alfaeric]

I booked before Zika became widely prominent. My cruise has been booked well over a year. Personally I want to go to San Juan as its a new port for me. I do agree that cruisers should use their personal responsibility but I still wonder whether cruise liners may consider changing their itineraries.

 

One thing to consider- Puerto Rico is not the only island that has Zika. We just hear that one because it's part of the US health system.

 

Any island in the Caribbean will have it.

 

So if you want to sail, you should focus on keeping the existing mosquitos away.

[crewsweeper]

IMO, it is more apprfopiagtfgfe vcruisers should use ftheri rown vood judgmdeengt in choosingg itiinerZrfieexsfiesto tobbok. A little perxonzl rfesponsxi bilitfy goes long wa. Zny zdulg who wangts gtrro gtravel should hzve ghd choi go vhooxse a cfrfuise gthag boes gtto San Juan. Ifc anyhone wsanfts gfo ssgfay awy, fine. FGThey can obook cruiszed .thag dxodsn'gft vvgo ghde but tfhose swho wsant tfo go should have tfth choi hoi e

.

 

Dontcha just love autocorrect!?:D:eek::D

[Aviator of the Seas]

Zika virus facts and fiction as outlined by the CDC, HHS and local health officials (not my opinion, but facts offered during a recent conference on the subject held in San Juan which I attended and verifiable press reports):

 

• 95 babies from Zika-infected mothers have been born in Puerto Rico so far this year. Zero were born with any defects. Zero.

 

• Old San Juan, the corridor from Loiza to Fajardo, Vieques, Culebra, the mountainous interior except around Caguas, most of the north and west coasts have a low incidence of infections.

• The highest rate of infections occur in high density urban areas like the south side and inner city of San Juan, not the beach areas.

• The best way to break the infection cycle is to avoid bites by using repellent, appropriate clothing and good sanitation, which hotels and tourist areas practice very well.

• There are over 40 types of mosquitos, only one of which is a vector of Zika. The Aedes Aegypti. Again, these are urban/household mosquitos, not wild mosquitos.

• Mosquitos in the wild (Rainforest, beaches, mangroves, other forests) are not vectors.

• As hotels and surrounding areas in urban zones have good sanitation, risk is low.

• Most travelers who get infected are not business or leisure travelers, but friends-and-family visiting friends and family who usually stay outside of hotels.

• Previous infections do not affect future pregnancies. That’s for sure. It is still not very well understood if risk of zika birth defects is really significant or worse than infections from other viruses. Ongoing studies on that. They’re just erring on the side of caution.

• Guillain-Barre syndrome can be cause by many other infections, not just zika.

• Why is there malaria in the Hispaniola but not here? Different types of mosquitos and since malaria was eradicated here many decades ago, there’s very low risk of person-mosquito-person transmission from someone who travelled there. The very few cases from travelers here are immediately quarantined and treated. Sanitation here is to US standards.

• Numbers seem high in Puerto Rico than the region’s because of better and more professional reporting capabilities here since we are a US Territory. Likewise, response is more capable than in other countries.

• CDC, Health Department aggressively pursuing flare ups of infections. Well-funded effort from the federal government and from NGOs like the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.

• Mangrove mosquitos look like the Aedes but is not and is harmless as far as viruses, even in swarms.

• Aedes is a day biter, not at night.

• Gnats are harmless as far as viruses.

• THE LEVEL OF ZIKA INFECTIONS SHOULD TAPER DOWN AND BECOME VERY LOW IN PUERTO RICO BY 2017, AS THE LOCAL POPULATION DEVELOPS IMMUNITY TO THE VIRUS. Should go down to dengue and chikun levels, which this year are very low, and stay that way for around 10 years, which is the normal cycle of these flare ups.

• Aedes is not really a widespread mosquito, 5 here, 5 there.

• Aedes is common in all tropics around the world.

• Bromeliads are an important habitat for coquis and shouldn’t be destroyed. Aedes rare in bromeliads. A different mosquito, not a vector, thrives there and is a food source for coquis. If need be, they can be fumigated with BTI which is harmeless to coquis.

• Aedes and infections from it almost non-existent in low population areas like El Yunque Rainforest.

 

• Meet Puerto Rico (the PR Convention Bureau) has video testimonials. meetpuertorico.com. Puertoriconow.seepuertorico.com

 

• The most important point is that as a US territory, we have very capable professionals from many public health agencies working on the issue, that our sanitation is up to US standards, and that this is a manageable problem that will almost go away soon.

[sail7seas]

One thing to consider- Puerto Rico is not the only island that has Zika. We just hear that one because it's part of the US health system.

 

Any island in the Caribbean will have it.

 

So if you want to sail, you should focus on keeping the existing mosquitos away.

There is zika virus in Miami, florida.and in St, Maaatin

Edited August 15, 2016 by sail7seas

[sail7seas]

One thing to consider- Puerto Rico is not the only island that has Zika. We just hear that one because it's part of the US health system.

 

Any island in the Caribbean will have it.

 

So if you want to sail, you should focus on keeping the existing mosquitos away.

 

I booked before Zika became widely prominent. My cruise has been booked well over a year. Personally I want to go to San Juan as its a new port for me. I do agree that cruisers should use their personal responsibility but I still wonder whether cruise liners may consider changing their itineraries.

 

 

n that czcased you are making zn inffofmrc decision and b darf all responsibilirrty, hope yournjoy. SanJjusn iafgagfun port, IMO.

[alfaeric]

n that czcased you are making zn inffofmrc decision and b darf all responsibilirrty, hope yournjoy. SanJjusn iafgagfun port, IMO.

 

Uh.. what typing setting do you have?

 

The words I can identify:

 

that, you, are, making, decision, and, all, hope, and port. The rest of it, I'm not sure. :D

[sail7seas]

Uh.. what typing setting do you have?

 

The words I can identify:

 

that, you, are, making, decision, and, all, hope, and port. The rest of it, I'm not sure. :D

 

 

What do you mean by typing setting whatis that? What does Uh mean?

I don't know to what you are refering.

Edited August 18, 2016 by sail7seas

[alfaeric]

n that czcased you are making zn inffofmrc decision and b darf all responsibilirrty, hope yournjoy. SanJjusn iafgagfun port, IMO.

 

What do you mean by typing setting whatis that? What does Uh mean?

I don't know to what you are refering.

 

Uh was used as a word of hesitation. looking at the quote from you earlier, the the text is looks to be largely random characters.

 

So the hesitation was- I'm not sure what you are typing.

 

Seems like something was wrong with the typing. unless words like inffofmrc and iagfgagfun have a meaning that I'm not aware of.

[sail7seas]

Uh was used as a word of hesitation. looking at the quote from you earlier, the the text is looks to be largely random characters.

 

So the hesitation was- I'm not sure what you are typing.

 

Seems like something was wrong with the typing. unless words like inffofmrc and iagfgagfun have a meaning that I'm not aware of.

 

 

What is \typing setting?

[slidergirl]

Uh was used as a word of hesitation. looking at the quote from you earlier, the the text is looks to be largely random characters.

 

So the hesitation was- I'm not sure what you are typing.

 

Seems like something was wrong with the typing. unless words like inffofmrc and iagfgagfun have a meaning that I'm not aware of.

 

Sail7seas has incurred a hand injury. She's doing the best she can with the disability. Just be patient and you get the gist of what she is trying to say. Then, just respond as you would for any other poster.

[alfaeric]

What is \typing setting?

 

No idea- I'm just wondering why the words typed don't make any sense, that's all. Not sure why that's not obvious. I can't tell what you are typing, that's it.

 

Sail7seas has incurred a hand injury. She's doing the best she can with the disability. Just be patient and you get the gist of what she is trying to say. Then, just respond as you would for any other poster.

 

One can't really know that. It's really hard to get the gist of the message, as none of it makes sense. I can see what about 1/3 of the words are, and that's about it.

 

Now I know. Move on.

[slidergirl]

No idea- I'm just wondering why the words typed don't make any sense, that's all. Not sure why that's not obvious. I can't tell what you are typing, that's it.

 

 

 

One can't really know that. It's really hard to get the gist of the message, as none of it makes sense. I can see what about 1/3 of the words are, and that's about it.

 

Now I know. Move on.

 

Just like trying to read something in a foreign language you do not know, you can figure out what was written if you get most of the words.

Allow me a quick "translation":

n that czcased you are making zn inffofmrc decision and b darf all responsibilirrty, hope yournjoy. SanJjusn iafgagfun port, IMO.

 

In that case, you are making an informed decision and be <not sure> all responsibility, hope you enjoy. San Juan is a fun port, IMO.

Edited August 19, 2016 by slidergirl

[sail7seas]

Sail7seas has incurred a hand injury. She's doing the best she can with the disability. Just be patient and you get the gist of what she is trying to say. Then, just respond as you would for any other poster.

Thank you for your kindness, sllider girl. :)

Edited August 19, 2016 by sail7seas

[slidergirl]

Thank you for your kindness, sllider girl. :)

 

You are most welcome. You are a valuable asset here on CC! We disagree at times, but you input is always helpful to people here.

[rodenboy]

I didn't want this thread to turn into something offensive. In your defence sail7seas, I pretty much got what you were trying to say, as you could see from my above replies! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[slidergirl]

I didn't want this thread to turn into something offensive. In your defence sail7seas, I pretty much got what you were trying to say, as you could see from my above replies! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Sometimes, on CC, a chance to snipe is never ignored ;) I visit some of the same forums sail7seas does, so I was already aware. I had asked her also if she was having keyboard problems (I hope in a polite way) and found out her issue. I just try to pre-empt her having to explain - which means she has to type more...

[sail7seas]

My hand is healing and hopefully, it will show, soon, in the accurracy of my typing. :)

[slidergirl]

My hand is healing and hopefully, it will show, soon, in the accurracy of my typing. :)

 

Good to hear! At that point, we will only call out the typos ;)

[TravelingAPor]

Just returned from PR. We used DEET spray and were not bothered by mosquitoes. I don't see why cruise lines will avoid PR because of Zika.

It is a beautiful Island, with lots to see & do.