Foreign Advisories Clobber Trinidad & Tobago

Governments of the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are maintaining strong travel advisories on crime in T&T - and two have also included warnings on yellow fever. The advisories posted on the Internet remain current. The Foreign and Commonwealth office of the UK and the Australian authorities included amendments in their current advisories on the yellow fever situation.

The UK advisory noted reports of a yellow fever outbreak amongst monkey populations in local, rural forested areas. “There has been a marked increase in the number of reported cases in Trinidad in 2008,” the advisory stated. The Australian advisory also stated that T&T’s Health Ministry issued a yellow fever alert following the recent death of monkeys in forested areas.

It also urged vaccination for travellers, and states: “T&T is considered an endemic country for the mosquito-borne illness, yellow fever. Although there have been no recent human cases, the yellow fever virus may be present in animals and can be transmitted by mosquitoes to humans.”