15

sorry to be way uncool. something i never wanted to be.

could we get a link to the information that nutraxfornerves posted? i don't know what happened to that post.

in reading the reports from the health ministry in costa rica, i got different information. maybe nutraxfornerves was referring to some who or cdc or cia report?

sometimes, kenko, facts are indeed facts. if, in fact, there are 10 or 20 cases a week of malaria, is this significant in a population of 4 million? do you know where any of the places are where this malaria was reported? did you read in the ministry of health report that several of the cases were found in people who came from other countries?

sometimes people come on this forum and ask a question and then don't like any of the answers. i get kind of impatient with that and really way uncool. just my style. if the first-time visitor wants official health information about costa rica, they should be reading the reports from the costa rican ministry of health and not asking "opinions" on a travel forum or writing things like "people say" or "i have heard" or "some guidebooks say."

16

Peace.

17

maybe it's just my frustration with trying to understand "game of thrones" that makes me so cross. sigh.

18

it wont be long before people are asking if there is a Ipad/Iphone app for Malaria...brace yourselves...

okay, its happy hour here in Chicago, here is to no malaria in CR...hehe

19

My post was in a different thread. It was:

I would not agree that there is no malaria in Costa Rica. When I looked at weekly reports from the Ministry of Health for 2011, I found that 10-20 cases of malaria were reported during each of the weeks I checked

That is a very low incidence, but it is not the same as "no malaria."

I'll grab one source at random. The BOLETÍN SEMANAL DE VIGILANCIA DE LA SALUD for "Semana epidemiológica # 21 a 27 .Año 2011."


I don't trust my Spanish, so I'll rely on Google to translate:

As I said before--very low incidence, but not the same as "no malaria."

20

thanks, nutrax, that's the same one i read. the thing is - it says "weeks #21 to #27" and not "each week." so 12 cases for those 6 weeks: 6 in the area of limon province we have been talking about, one in talamanca, 1 in grecia in a person who came from honduras, 4 in the canton of miramar in puntarenas province.

so you are right. there is malaria in costa rica. 12 cases during a 6-week period out of a population of 4.5 million. i stand corrected.

are these statistically significant? no. is there a danger to the ordinary tourist? emphatically no!

there is less statistical significance in these numbers than snake bites, lightning strikes, airplane crashes, automobile crashes, atv accidents.

21

Take note the other 4 cases are from areas with a commercial high volume fishing port, which could mean the fisherman, which travel far and wide on the coast as far as Colombia/Darien Gap, or north to Honduras miskito coast, which both have Malaria, could be the culprit for those cases as well.

Just sayin...

22

I looked at maybe a half dozen of those Boletíns--they all reported a handful of cases.

Even the US CDC, which is usually very conservative, recommends antimalarials only for people who will be in "Limón Province, but not in Limón City (Puerto Limón)." And only then, after consultation with your doctor, since "Estimated relative risk of malaria for US travelers: Low."

A lot would depend on what a visitor is doing--a researcher who will be camping out for a month in a swamp while collecting nocturnal insects might look at things differently than someone who will be staying in a good hotel for one night.

The other consideration would be if an individual has a personal medical reason why they might be a higher risk of complications should they get malaria. That's something that only an individual & his/her healthcare provider can assess.

I'll add that the malaria in CR is 100% P.vivax, the species that can make you pretty darned sick but which is rarely fatal.

23

nice try, solohobo, but fishermen going from puntarenas province would not end up on the miskito coast. wrong ocean.

24

no but they could be down in Panama/Colombia area...

as far as the Limon province goes, the coastal areas is heavily populated in Limon the city, also lots of poverty, and then from Playa Cahuita to Manzanillo is mainly tourist oriented lodging all along the coastal road, where 95% is owned by foreigners, and I can tell you, they have not been living there for 15 years taking the malaria meds, nor would they suggest their guest do as well. Malaria is not a risk, period.

25

The word "material" would come in handy in that last sentence.

26

Oh well...at least you won't get measles...
(copied from a newsletter I receive)

Costa Rica is the First Country in the Americas
to become Measles and Rubella Free

Health authorities are seeking
certification from The Pan American
Health Organization as well as the World
Health Organization for the historic
achievement of being free of measles
and rubella for over 10 years.
In 1999 Costa Rica had a large
rubella outbreak and in response the
Ministry of Health adopted the goal of
its elimination. In 2001 a nationwide
vaccination campaign for rubella and
measles reached approx. 95% of
persons aged 15-39 with the goal of
leading to complete measles and rubella
elimination. Along with an aggressive
campaign by both the Ministry of Health
and the Social Security System that goal
has been reached.
Measles primarily affects
children and can cause serious
complications including blindness,
encephalitis and pneumonia. Rubella
can cause severe birth defects and
both illnesses can be prevented by
vaccination.
In Europe many countries do not
have outbreaks under control. According
to the CDC, In France alone more than
14,000 cases of measles were reported
from January through June of 2011.