Dengue Fever in Thailand in August? Help!
 

The one place in the world I would most like to travel to is Thailand. Here's my dilemma: I have the month of August free next summer, and the only thing that's preventing me from going there is the fear of getting dengue fever (which I understand is prevalent in August). The places I'd be interested in staying at are Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, Lampang (elephant conservation center), Chiang Mai and Koh Samui.

I've met three people that came down with dengue while in Thailand, and all said it was the single most horrible sickness they'd ever endured. And yet, there have been very few posts about dengue on this board, and when it's brought up, people just say to put on repellant, and you'll be fine. What concerns me is that it would mean that you would have to have deet on 24 hours a day, covering every centimeter of exposed skin. In Lampang and Koh Samui, that might be hard to do, as I'll frequently be in the water, and all it takes is one bite, and there goes the rest of the trip.

Do any of you travel to Thailand in August? Is there any danger of the mosquitoes biting in spite of the deet? What about through clothing? Am I being overly paranoid?

Any imput re: dengue in August would be appreciated......

tania

We've been to Thailand twice in August and twice in December/January with our now 8 year old. It's possible that you read our most recent trip report with the dengue fever scare...we thought our daugther had it, but she didn't; she had a bacterial infection, and antibiotics worked like magic.

You might want to reconsider the water at elephant camp...we are pretty sure that our daughter became so ill due to bathing with the elephants over and over there...the water is not at all clean - think about it...a pool of slowly moving water (there is a dam to make it pool there) with elephants and dung and other waste...brown, mucky water. I didn't go near the water and was not sick at all, my husband went in the water a couple of times but wasn't drenched and was a little sick, our daughter was drenched and was very sick. Not proven though, and I do know lots of people who have been in that same water and have not been sick...could be that she was unlucky with it, or it could be that she got the bacteria from an entirely different source. Something to think about though.

I think this might be something you want to research more and really evaluate the risk you feel for yourself. Using Deet is important, as well as preventing mosquitos from being in your room, either with air con/screens/spray and/or mosquito netting over your bed. The mosquitos that transmit Dengue Fever are most active at dusk and dawn, so these are the times you'd need to be most careful. If you google DENGUE FEVER THAILAND you'll get lots of info to help you.

i don't go there in august, but we take only malaria pills and don't honestly worry about the other....my wife is a nurse and is overly concerned with health issues, so if she felt it was a problem then we would do something about it...

not sure why august would be any different from other times of the year...

have you looked at what the cdc suggests or have you consulted a travel clinic....we were at our travel clinic last week and they made no mention of it

The only protection against dengue is to prevent bites. Here's some info that might help you. Dengue is more prevalent in cities and towns than in rural areas (the opposite of malaria). The type of mosquito that carries dengue is active during the day (as opposed to teh mosquitos that carry malaria that are most active from dusk to dawn.

You want a repellant that contains 25-50% deet. The extended release types (one is made by Sawyer, another is Ultrathon) are the very best, but you can simply apply the regular type more frequently.

Whenever you can, wear long pants and long sleeved shirts.

There is dengue in many tropical climates. Indeed, there has been an outbreak in Hawaii.

You can read more about dengue at
www.cdc.gov/travel

I've lived in Thailand nearly 15 years. I've been to all the places you mention, many times, at all times of year. I've never had anything more serious than a common cold.

Dengue fever is still largely confined to the eastern border area with Cambodia.

I agree with Michael. I have lived here for 13 years was a regular visitor before that for ten years and I have never had a medical problem.

I know only one person who has contacted dengue fever and he believes, but is not certain, that he contacted it elephant riding in the hills above Chiang Mai.

As Kathie said, it is the daytime mosquito that is the problem. We are not normally troubled by them, but if they are about we use a lemon grass based spray.

I'm also in the ranks of the shocked to read that you have met three people who contracted dengue. I've lived in Asia for 15 years and only know ONE person who got it, and he got it in Singapore of all places. I'd like to know a bit more about where and how the people you met believe they contracted the dengue. However, overall, I would not be too concerned as long as you take precautions like using a mosquito repellent. I certainly wouldn't stop planning a trip to Thailand because of it, but really only you can decide how comfortable you are about it.

I know 3 people that have had Dengue. Two got it in Thailand and one in HCMC, so it's not really that shocking. Do yourself a favor and stay out of Vietnam, particularly the South. There's been over 20,000 cases this year, up 62% from last year.