site.btaForeign Ministry Warns Bulgarians to Exercise High Degree of Caution when Travelling to Caribbean Basin Countries

Foreign Ministry Warns Bulgarians to Exercise High Degree of Caution when  Travelling to Caribbean Basin Countries

Sofia, October 20 (BTA) - In relation to the increased number of
Chikungunya virus cases in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic,
Cuba and other Caribbean Basin countries, the Foreign Ministry
Monday issued a warning to Bulgarian nationals to exercise high
degree of caution when planning trips to the region taking into
consideration the risk of infection.

The Chikungunya virus is an endemic disease in the whole
Caribbean Basin and there currently is no preventive vaccine.
The virus is transmitted to people by mosquitoes of the type
Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The risk of infection is
high due to the presence of both types of mosquitoes in the
Caribbean Basin.

The countries most affected by the disease are the Dominican
Republic and Jamaica, where a state of emergency has been
declared over the Chikungunya virus, the Foreign Ministry
recalls.