The Mosquito Virus in St. Maarten & US Virgin Islands

[poolwife]

I and many other passengers that are yet to sail to St. Maarten are sure wondering what Celebrity is going to do about our stop there. Will we continue or will they re-route to another island due to the spread of the virus?

 

Any thoughts out there?

[omeinv]

First, it's NOT been reported in the US Virgin Islands, but the British.

 

Second, the CDC alerts regarding chikungunya are Level 1 advisories, which are strictly advice to "Practice usual precautions". This means that person should use mosquito repellent containing DEET, and wear clothing that provides protection (cover area that your own experience tells you mosquitoes like to bite you). There would be no reason for Celebrity - or any cruise line - to alter itineraries because of this level of advisory.

 

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/watch/chikungunya-saint-martin

 

Harris

Denver, CO

Edited January 26, 2014 by omeinv

[Fouremco]

First, it's NOT been reported in the US Virgin Islands, but the British.

 

Second, the CDC alerts regarding chikungunya are Level 1 advisories, which are strictly advice to "Practice usual precautions". This means that person should use mosquito repellent containing DEET, and wear clothing that provides protection (cover area that your own experience tells you mosquitoes like to bite you). There would be no reason for Celebrity - or any cruise line - to alter itineraries because of this level of advisory.

 

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/watch/chikungunya-saint-martin

 

Harris

Denver, CO

That sums it up nicely. OP, if you want more information, there are many threads on different CC boards, but it all come back to the fact that CDC recommends taking normal precautions against mosquito bites.

[bphman]

There are plenty of mosquito borne illnesses throughout the whole Caribbean and Central America. You have to use proper precautions as mentioned above. Things are worse in a lot of other ports with dengue, malaria and others. We have our own issues with West Nile, Equine encephalitis on occasion and lets not forget all of the tick borne illnesses. Things are no worse there than they are in the US. Just different. Use precautions, don't worry, and have a great time.

[jgnova]

There have been several threads on this topic and no announcement from any of the cruise lines. The disease has now spread beyond St. Martin to St. Barts, Martinique, Guadeloupe, and the BVI, with cases reported also on Dominica and French Guiana. I think it's more on the French side of St. Martin than the Dutch, which is where we dock.

 

My best guess is that this will be a new fact of life for Caribbean travel that we are going to have to learn to live with. Bug spray, dress carefully. Not sure how effective any mosquito eradication would be when you have so much inter-island travel.

 

j

[BosoxI]

We were in St Maarten last month and we're returning next month. This time we'll take bug spray because it's prudent but not because we think a hoard of mosquitos will descend on us. Relax and enjoy a very nice destination

[CruisersTimesThree]

Take the same precautions you would do home during mosquito season.

It surprises me that so many are freaking out about this, especially when the CDC has no major concerns over it.

It really is the same thing as here in the states and the west nile virus. Do you avoid going out in the summer because of mosquitos and west nile?

[keesar]

Take the same precautions you would do home during mosquito season.

It surprises me that so many are freaking out about this, especially when the CDC has no major concerns over it.

It really is the same thing as here in the states and the west nile virus. Do you avoid going out in the summer because of mosquitos and west nile?

 

Well said. Some people don't seem to remember that there are mosquitos in the United States that carry nasty diseases. There are precautions that most people take during mosquito season such as using repellants, wearing longer sleeved clothing, and not going out at dusk and dawn.

[jackdiamond]

Well said. Some people don't seem to remember that there are mosquitos in the United States that carry nasty diseases. There are precautions that most people take during mosquito season such as using repellants, wearing longer sleeved clothing, and not going out at dusk and dawn.

Are these mosquitos more prevalent when the sun is down? If so, this is probably not a matter of major concern for most cruisers since usually you are on the ship at that time.

[rdt10]

I was in St. Martin last week on the Summit. If I hadn't read about it here on CC I wouldn't have known anything about it. Celebrity didn't say anything and it was business as usual on the island. We went to Orient Beach and downtown. It was breezy so no mosquitoes. We put some deet on just in case.

[keesar]

Are these mosquitos more prevalent when the sun is down? If so, this is probably not a matter of major concern for most cruisers since usually you are on the ship at that time.

 

Mosquitos tend to like shady and damp areas. They will bite during the day but more active at night. In any case, it would be prudent to use precautionary measures.

[Cruise Raider]

Are these mosquitos more prevalent when the sun is down? If so, this is probably not a matter of major concern for most cruisers since usually you are on the ship at that time.

 

The tip sheet attached to the link above states, "These mosquitoes bite mostly during the daytime".

[jackdiamond]

Mosquitos tend to like shady and damp areas. They will bite during the day but more active at night. In any case, it would be prudent to use precautionary measures.

I agree, but how effective is deet, after you have been in the water. In other words,should you reapply same after coming out of the water?

[poolwife]

Sorry I got it wrong stating the U.S. Virgin Islands vs. British Virgin Islands.

 

I have also read quite a lot under the Ports of Call board Caribbean/St. Maarten. There is a thread on there that is very informative and makes it seem a lot more serious than a Level One alert.

 

All I am saying is that we need to be aware and it would be good if everyone read that thread. This is how it is titled "So Many Mosquito Threads - News From the Local Paper" and keeps up with the posts through the local newspaper and the CDC.

[Redtravel]

Celebrity does publish warnings about the mosquito problem in the daily program. They say you should use repellant with DEET and wear long sleeves and pants. I was there last week on the Eclipse. I saw some people wearing the long sleeves and pants. Many people stayed on the ship. If this problem continues to spread, maybe they will skip the islands with the problem.

[jackdiamond]

Celebrity does publish warnings about the mosquito problem in the daily program. They say you should use repellant with DEET and wear long sleeves and pants. I was there last week on the Eclipse. I saw some people wearing the long sleeves and pants. Many people stayed on the ship. If this problem continues to spread, maybe they will skip the islands with the problem.

Were those folks wearing long sleeves and pants when on the ship?

[riclop]

Lots of deet.

[sammyreddog]

We were in St. Maarten last week. First off, you are there during the heat of the day....we saw no mosquitoes. If you are at a beach, the breeze will likely keep them away. If you are venturing in to the interior of the island, you might want to put on some spray. And judging from the hoards of people that poured out of the 7 ships in port, no one is staying on the boat! (I did not see netting being installed on the ship, so I'm relatively sure that the mosquitoes could infiltrate if they wanted to!)

Edited January 27, 2014 by sammyreddog

[Redtravel]

Were those folks wearing long sleeves and pants when on the ship?

With 6 ships in port on that day, it is hard to say which ship they were on. It was strange to see people covered up on St. Maarten.

On the Eclipse, people wore everything. There were many who always dressed in long pants...and many who never left the ship. Lots of old people. Lots of people using canes, walkers, wheelchairs, and scooters.

 

I have stayed on the french side for many years. Lots of standing water. The mosquito problem is ongoing....mostly at night. We decided not to stay in St. Martin this year after reading the warnings. We enjoyed our cruise on the Eclipse so much that we booked it for next year.

[Fouremco]

Celebrity does publish warnings about the mosquito problem in the daily program. They say you should use repellant with DEET and wear long sleeves and pants. I was there last week on the Eclipse. I saw some people wearing the long sleeves and pants. Many people stayed on the ship. If this problem continues to spread, maybe they will skip the islands with the problem.

Dengue fever is the most common viral disease spread to humans by mosquitoes. It can cause severe flu-like symptoms. In some cases, it leads to dengue haemorrhagic fever, which can be fatal. There is no vaccine or medication that protects against dengue fever. According to the World Health Organization and the CDC, dengue fever is prevalent in every single Caribbean island and has been for a number of years.

 

Chikungunya is a viral disease which typically causes fever along with an arthritis-like pain in the joints. It is also spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. The reason it is getting a lot of current media coverage is because until December 2013, there were no reported cases of the virus been transmitted in the western hemisphere.

 

Even if chikungunya becomes as ubiquitous as dengue in the Caribbean, it poses a lesser medical threat than dengue and it will not lead to Celebrity or other cruise lines changing their itineraries.

 

Personally, I'd be far more concerned about the norovirus. I'm sure that for passengers on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas, chikungunya is the furthest things from their minds.

[JanineM]

We were at Orient Beach on Thursday. No skeeters.

[ALANG]

Just was in St. Maarten this past Thursday. Nothing was mentioned on the ship and we saw no skeeters.

[awhfy]

Bullfrog sunscreen contains a bug repellent

[SusieV]

We were there on the 1/5 Silhouette sailing and didn't think twice.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[webecruzin2]

In St Martin on Azamara Quest this past December and they not only made it clear by announcement and in the daily that passengers should be aware of this, they also made us go out on the promonade deck where they had a mosquito repellent spray station before we could board the tender to go ashore.

We saw a few signs posted around Marigot about it, too.

I was not aware that leprosy is also an issue in St Martin until we saw a "Leprosy Clinic" in town.