Hepatitis Worries?
 

Just came back from the local "Travel Health" clinic where my fiancee and I were given Hep A & B shots. The travel counsellor still advised us not to drink tap water or have anything with ice in it during our trip to St. Lucia. In trying not to be paranoid about the situation, I'd like to ask the following: <BR><BR>Is Hep a problem on the island? Should we really stay away from having blender drinks, even though we're staying at Sandals (whom I presume has stricter cleanliness codes than<BR>restaurants in town)? Does Sandals use bottled water to make their ice?

There are lots of other intestinal ills you can get other than Hepatitis - bacterial or viral. Hepatitis A is spread by what is called fecal-oral route (food or water gets contaminated with nasty intestinal bacteria and makes you sick when you eat or drink it). Hepatitis B is spread by blood or sexual contact, so presumably you have less to worry about there.

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This comes from the St. Lucia section of www.mdtravelhealth.com<BR><BR>Do not drink tap water unless it has been boiled, filtered, or chemically disinfected.<BR>Do not drink unbottled beverages or drinks with ice. Do not eat fruits or vegetables unless they have been peeled or cooked. Avoid cooked foods that are no longer piping hot. Cooked foods that have been left at room temperature are particularly hazardous. Avoid unpasteurized milk and any products that might have been made from unpasteurized milk, such as ice cream. Avoid food and beverages obtained from street vendors. Do not eat raw or undercooked meat or fish, including ceviche. Some types of fish may contain poisonous biotoxins even when cooked. Barracuda in<BR>particular should never be eaten. Other fish that may contain toxins include red<BR>snapper, grouper, amberjack, sea bass, and a large number of tropical reef fish.

That mdtravelhealth site says the exact same thing for all the Caribbean islands. I guess it is just general precautions for all travellers. However, I wish I had my kids get a HepA shot before taking them to Atlantis.<BR>

We were in St. Lucia in March. Our resort had an orientation meeting that some people in our group attended. The question about the water was posed with a response that all the water at the resort is filtered. So, all fruit was washed with filtered water. They claimed that the water from the shower was safe to drink. Everything went well. And we did drink water out of our faucet from the bathroom sink. We ate an abundance of fish...it was wonderful. And everyone was fine. The milk was whole milk. I don't know if it was pasturized. But I did not care for it so I did not drink it. I thought the bacon and breakfast sausage tasted different too. Have fun and relax.

We were there summer before last & had not one single problem with anything. It was a wonderful experience! I have never heard of such warnings & I do extensive research before every trip we take.

Hi Terrence<BR>I have been to the island many times and have always drunk tap water with no problems. I have never had the Hepatitus jabs but would now consider it before going again due to windsurfing and falling in the water a lot! However, I have never worried about the tapwater and have eaten most of the types of fresh fish available in my trips. By the way, recommend Froggie Jacks Restaurant for good interesting food, including fresh fish which is always beautifully cooked.<BR><BR>Regards<BR><BR>Barbara

Terrence -<BR><BR>My girlfriend came back from her honeymoon last October and was sick with some sort of flu for 4days. She drank and ate whatever she wanted.<BR><BR>I'd be careful...better play it safe for your honeymoon!