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LOCALFriday 15 January 2016
CARPHA & CHTA Present:
Zika Guidelines For Hotels And Guesthouses In The Caribbean
ORANJESTAD - This docu- -Stay informed about the
ment made available
by the Caribbean Public ZIKV situation in your coun-
Health Agency (CARPHA)
and Caribbean Hotel and try, and in other Caribbean
Tourism Association (CHTA)
provides information on countries.
Zika (ZIKV) disease preven-
tion and control measures -Provide staff and guests
for travelers coming to the
Caribbean. with information on ZIKV so
This information is based on
currently available scientif- that they are aware of the
ic evidence and has been
adapted and prepared for signs
the Caribbean situation.
ZIKV is a mosquito-borne vi- and symptoms, how ZIKV is
ral infection which is trans-
mitted by the same Aedes transmitted and how it can
aegypti mosquito which
transmits dengue and chi- be prevented.
kungunya viruses.
ZIKV was first detected in -Consider placing hav-
the Americas in 2014 and
since then has spread to ing insect repellents in ev-
several other countries and
territories. Since ZIKV is new ery room, or having them
to the Caribbean, almost
everyone is susceptible to available for
the infection.
The most common symp- purchase.
toms of ZIKV infection are
mild fever and skin rash, -Avoid storing water in out-
usually accompanied by
conjunctivitis, muscle or door containers that can
joint pain, and general
malaise that begins 2-7 collect water to prevent
days after the bite of an
infected mosquito. Symp- them from
toms are similar to those of
dengue and chikungunya becoming mosquito
and can last 2- 7 days.
ZIKV cannot be transmitted breeding sites.
by close or casual contact
with an infected person -Cover water tanks or res-
(i.e., not person to person)
or through the air, food or ervoirs so that mosquitoes
water.
What can Hotels and do not get in.
Guesthouses in the Carib-
bean do to Prevent and -Avoid the build-up of gar-
Prepare for Zika?
There is no vaccine or treat- bage, which can act as a
ment available for ZIKA, so
prevention measures are breeding site for mosqui-
essential.
toes. Put
garbage in closed plastic
bags and keep it in closed
containers.
-Uncover/unblock gutters
and drains to release stag-
nant water.
- Install mosquito screening
on windows and doors to
help reduce contact be-
tween
Caribbean Public Health
Agency (CARPHA), Janu-
ary, 2016 2
mosquitoes and guests.
-Consider supplying guests
with bed nets in areas
where the sleeping quar-
ters are
exposed to the outdoors.
For more information on
Zika (ZIKV) disease, visit:
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/
index.html.
CARPHA will continue to
evaluate new information
as it becomes available,
and will update this guid-
ance as needed.q
