The Centers for Disease Control have issued an outbreak notice that cases of polio have been reported in China for the first time in more than ten years. The CDC is recommending that travelers to all parts of China be up-to-date on the polio vaccine. Use the link above to learn more about how to protect yourself.
El Hierro, the smallest of the heavily visited Canary Islands, is evacuating a targeted group of residents and tourists this week. This comes in response to the spike in intensity of the tremors that the Spanish National Geographic Institute began reporting in July and the fear that these events could lead to a volcanic eruption. El Hierro’s last reported eruption lasted a month back in 1793.
This voluntary evacuation could actually lead to an influx of visitors by those practicing volcano tourism as they may choose to go to the island to witness and document the event. In some cases this practice can be safe, as explained by Eumenio Ancochea, volcanologist at Madrid’s Complutense University, “After an eruption the lava advances at a few metres per hour and you can easily take photographs as it descends.” In the El Hierro case, it may not be safe to visit, as potential landslides resulting from an eruption could be devastating. It is this threat of landslides that has motivated the evacuation.
El Hierro is just the latest of many volcanoes gaining celebrity in the news, but this is not necessarily an indication that volcanic activity is increasing worldwide. As we surmised in July, experts suggest that the impression of increased volcanic activity should be attributed to increased reporting and better communication all around the world.
Photo by Mataparda.
Earlier this week Hong Kong’s secretary for security reported a 17% increase in the number of deception cases handled so far this year. Most of these cases were phone scams and fake kidnapping claims. Fake kidnapping is facilitated by the offender calling a mother, claiming that her son has been kidnapped and then demanding ransom. As the Healthy Travel Blog reported last year, this “virtual kidnapping” is not an uncommon practice and can be even more disturbing and complicated when the “victim” is traveling overseas. Consider adopting these practices when traveling abroad to avoid becoming one of the victims of virtual kidnapping:
A recent article in Afar magazine extols the virtues of leaving the tent behind to hike hut-to-hut through some of the most spectacular country all around the world. I’ve just returned from one such adventure—a six day sojourn through the High Sierra camps of Yosemite—and I heartily concur. Here’s the winning formula: you pack lightly (maximum 20 pounds versus the 40 pounds most backpackers shoulder), wend your way through forests and alpine meadows, past waterfalls, crystal clear lakes and stunning mountain peaks to spend the evening in communal lodgings where you dine with gusto on large servings of delicious local fare. Afterwards, you crawl gratefully into a rustic bed rather than trying to sleep atop the lumps beneath your tent and sleeping bag. I logged 65 miles and came back refreshed, invigorated and ready to research my next hut-to-hut expedition.
Afar magazine’s author Kelly Lack highlights six such trips, suggesting the Mont Blanc trail across three countries in the Alps, an approach to the Himalayas through the Kumaoni foothills of India, an excursion into Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains, a trek across New Zealand’s Queen Charlotte track, a route through Oregon’s Rogue River Wilderness and passage through Peru on the Andean Salkantay trail. Some of these trips include guides, and prices range from $700 (Yosemite, six days unguided) to $3,175 (Mont Blanc, 12 days, guided) per person. Have you hiked hut-to-hut? You can join the conversation here or at Afar’s social space, where other hut-to-hut options are shared.
A recent post from FoXnoMad provides readers with a quick reality check on How to Accurately Calculate How Many Calories You Just Burned Sightseeing. The author provides some basic rules on how burning calories is impacted by energy exerted, weight, level of athleticism and age. Then he offers suggestions for apps and maps that will help you better estimate the distance you travel while touring an area on foot and in turn, better calculate an average of calories burned. Weight conscious travelers can then use this information to make meal choices that won’t negatively impact their waistlines.
Have you tried any of these apps? What do you think?
Photo by nelnel7.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2011 version of Travel and International Health reflects the current trends affecting safe and healthy travel. Though this publication was created with medical and public health professionals in mind, it is also an easy-to-use resource for general travelers. While many travelers may prefer to search the Internet for up-to-date travel information, this book allows you to find all the info you need and cross references it as necessary without getting distracted by all the extraneous information and distractions that would likely be produced by an online search.
The topics covered range from general travel issues such as modes of travel and personal safety to more destination-specific situations such as environmental health risks and infectious diseases (e.g. yellow fever, malaria and rabies). Each of the major infectious diseases has its own map highlighting at-risk areas and important vaccination information.
Here is a breakdown by Chapter:
If you are looking for a good resource for international travel in general, or information to help you plan for the before, during and after of a specific trip, this is a credible and informative asset to add to your book shelf.
Any recommendations for similarly helpful resources?
Recent bulletins carry news of dengue fever on the rise in Panama, Pakistan and the Bahamas. Add these destinations to those mapped by the Centers for Disease Control, including Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Vietnam, Australia, Thailand, the Caribbean and the Philippines, and it’s clear dengue is spreading at an alarming pace throughout the tropics and subtropics. How are we fighting back?
Controlling dengue is largely an exercise in combating the mosquito species Aedes aegypti, which transmits the viral disease to over 50 million people per year and is becoming resistant to pesticides. Now New Scientist magazine is reporting that Oxford, England-based Oxitec, Ltd. is applying its genetic engineering expertise in field trials in the Caribbean, Malaysia and Brazil to reduce mosquito populations. Oxitec has created a disruptive strain of A. aegypti by modifying the genome to include genes that kick in after reproduction to kill the mosquito in the pupa stage. Genetically modified insects have been released into wild, and trials have been encouraging. Now the company has also engineered flightless females among the modified population, which are released to maximize the odds that the “killer males” will mate only with unmodified females and thereby cut an even wider swath.
Critics point out that genetic modification can lead to both intended and unintended consequences. It will pay to keep an eye on this experiment both as a weapon against a growing scourge and as an index of whether these tactics will prove to be safe over the long-term.
Photo by Curtis Palmer.
