Antigua and Barbuda Health Overview
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There are no special health requirements for visitors to Antigua and Barbuda, except for yellow fever immunisation for those over one year of age arriving from an infected country. Hepatitis A vaccination is recommended but not mandatory. The Dengue Fever mosquito is found throughout the islands, and incidents of the disease are on the increase; care should be taken to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. Travellers should be aware that some types of tropical reef fish are poisonous, even when cooked. Health insurance with provision for medical evacuation is strongly recommended, as medical treatment is expensive. There is no hyperbaric chamber; divers requiring treatment for decompression illness must be evacuated from the island. The private hospital, Adelin, requires a substantial credit card deposit before treating visitors, who then have to personally reclaim the cost from insurance on their return home.
View information on diseases: Hepatitis A, Dengue Fever
Hepatitis A
Cause: Hepatitis A virus, a member of the picornavirus family. Transmission: The virus is acquired directly from infected persons by the faecal-oral route or by close contact, or by consumption of contaminated food or drinking water. There is no insect vector or animal reservoir (although some non-human primates are sometimes infected). Nature of the disease: An acute viral hepatitis with abrupt onset of fever, malaise, nausea and abdominal discomfort, followed by the development of jaundice a few days later. Infection in very young children is usually mild or asymptomatic (e.g. causes no symptoms); older children are at risk of symptomatic disease. The disease is more severe in adults, with illness lasting several weeks and recovery taking several months; case-fatality is greater than 2% for those over 40 years of age and 4% for those over 60. Geographical distribution: Worldwide, but most common where sanitary conditions are poor and the safety of drinking water is not well controlled. Risk for travellers: Non-immune travellers to developing countries are at significant risk of infection. The risk is particularly high for travellers exposed to poor conditions of hygiene, sanitation and drinking water control. Prophylaxis (protective treatment): Vaccination. Precautions: Travellers who are non-immune to hepatitis A (i.e. have never had the disease and have not been vaccinated) should take particular care to avoid potentially contaminated food and water. Source: WHO.
Back to TopDengue Fever
Cause: The dengue virus - a flavivirus of which there are four serotypes. Transmission: Dengue fever is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which bites during daylight hours. There is no direct person-to-person transmission. Monkeys act as a reservoir host in south-east Asia and west Africa. Nature of the disease: Dengue occurs in three main clinical forms: Dengue fever is an acute febrile illness with sudden onset of fever, followed by development of generalized symptoms and sometimes a macular skin rash. It is known as "breakbone fever" because of severe muscular pains. The fever may be biphasic (i.e. two separate episodes or waves of fever). Most patients recover after a few days; Dengue haemorrhagic fever has an acute onset of fever followed by other symptoms resulting from thrombocytopenia, increased vascular permeability and haemorrhagic manifestations; Dengue shock syndrome supervenes in a small proportion of cases. Severe hypotension develops, requiring urgent medical treatment to correct hypovolaemia. Without appropriate treatment, 40-50% of cases are fatal; with timely therapy, the mortality rate is 1% or less. Geographical distribution: Dengue fever is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions of central and south America and south and south-east Asia and also occurs in Africa; in these regions, dengue is limited to altitudes below 600 metres (2,000 feet). Risk for travellers: There is a significant risk for travellers in areas where dengue fever is endemic and in areas affected by epidemics of dengue. Prophylaxis (protective treatment): None. Precautions: Travellers should take precautions to avoid mosquito bites both during the day and at night in areas where dengue occurs. Source: WHO.
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