To cancel my holiday due to Ebola epidemic

[salonebabe]

I'm going to Sierra Leone in a few weeks time, but I'm getting extremely anxious about the Ebola epidemic (www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2014/jul/17/ebola-sierra-leone-epidemic).

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office advice is still that there is minimal risk to tourists. Maybe I am worrying needlessly, but I suspect the problem is far worse than the official WHO figures are suggesting. I also don't think the FCO appreciate the realities of travel within Sierra Leone - jam packed buses, ferries and taxis etc. Unless the FCO issue a 'don't travel' advisory, I'll be unable to cancel and claim on my travel insurance.

I've been looking forward to this trip for a long time, so really don't want to cancel. I also can't afford to lose the money already spent on flights and accommodation.

Are there any medical experts here who could help me decide whether I should cancel or not? I appreciate that I, like most people, am not very good at assessing risk objectively, and I don't feel that I have enough information to make an informed decision. If a doctor on these forums was to say that they would have no problem travelling, or the converse, then that would help me make my decision.

Wash your hands a lot (not sure what good antibacterial gel would be vs a virus), stay away from caves and animals and corpses. Don't eat monkey, bat/rodent or pig meat. It's not airborne and people get sick very quickly so are unlikely to be walking around spreading it. Many cases are caused by the bathing of victims' bodies.

Ebola isn't airborne is it? You can only get it by coming into direct contact with an infected persons bodily fluids which isn't very likely really. I'm sure that, unless you are going to an area which is badly affected, then the chances of you catching it are slim. I still wouldn't go though but to be honest I wouldnt go there anyway, outbreak or not.

I work in travel health as well as OH nursing as lots of companies send staff away on business.

I don't know where you are going, but on a purely reactive response, i would say go back to whoever you went to originally for your travel vaccinations ... You have done that haven't you? because there is a fuck of a lot more shit to be worried about as well there, and get up to date advice.

I'd risk it if it was just me, visiting family, because I'd take/use precautions, but I wouldn't take dc if you have them.

I mean in seri leone, not in the world.
Makes a difference on the region on the travel advice you would give.

Ironically Balls, it is people who visit family abroad who are most at risk of illness, as they think they are immune, having lived there.
So fail to visit GP to have travel vacs, obviously in this case vacs will not help but ...

I wouldn't go- sorry OP don't think I would risk it

I think it depends on where you are going and why?

Are you visiting family/friends and staying in a rural location?

Don't go.
www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2014/jul/17/ebola-sierra-leone-epidemic

I'd go. I think the FCO probably have a reasonable idea what Sierra Leone is like. They have to err on the side of caution so if they say it's safe enough, I'd go.

The OP won't be the first person to come (back) to the UK from those 3 countries since the outbreak started.

Take basic precautions, avoid personal contact with sick people ( I think it's not contagious until people are symptomatic?) and have an amazing time!

Nathnac (linked earlier) suggest risks are low for tourists. If to was a destination I wanted to visit, I'd go
www.nathnac.org/pro/clinical_updates/ebola_westafrica_030714.htm

Ebola is generally transmitted by very personal contact. Someone catches it off a fruit bat. And then it spreads by:

1. A medic uses one needle on lots and lots of people. One of those people has ebola already.

1. Someone dies of ebola. As is traditional, their relatives prepare their body personally for burial. So their relatives have close physical contact (no gloves) with a great deal of blood. Some of them sicken and die. Their relatives ...

Thanks for all the replies so far. As expected, the mixture of responses are mirroring the thoughts going through my mind. I'm still not sure what to do, but I'll take the advice of a previous poster and phone the British Embassy in Freetown on Monday. I'll also pretend to be American, and try the American Embassy as well, since I have a feeling that I'm more likely to get an honest response from them.

Why Sierra Leone? Well I am originally from there and don't get to visit friends/family that often. It is also a beautiful country to visit - just do a Google for Sierra Leone beaches (www.google.co.uk/search?q=sierra+leone+beaches&tbm=isch).

Why on earth would a doctor posting on mumsnet make you feel better? Most will have very little experience of the relative risks of contracting Ebola in Sierra Leone!

Make the decision by speaking to the right people eg the embassy or the London hospital for tropical disease.

What is your attitude to risk? Where are you staying? Do you have close friends there?

Personally, there is way more than Ebola that I would worry about if I visited Sierra Leone, if i based my decision solely on statistics.

ebola is a hemogragic fever which can only be passed by direct contact with infected sweat blood urine or feces.
the effected areas are remote without knowing your holiday plans i can't say if your likely to come into.contact with an infect human.
as long as you don't go rubbing yourself on the locals you should be ok.
personally i think its insane that you would want to go in the first place, but im a health freak

You're not going to get ebola - the advice out there is consistent from a wide range of sources, that the risk is tiny. Of course, if you're scared for other reasons then that's another matter, but don't cancel because of ebola.

That Guardian article would definitely put me off.

Surely you would be more at risk than just a tourist would be, if you are visiting family.

You would be hugging people, they would be introducing you to people, which could mean more hugging, hand shakes, offers of food/drink etc.

I would like the tradition of handshakes to die out, stand in any toilet and even the "poshest/groomed" people don't wash their hands.

I wouldn't want to hover over a toilet for the duration of a two week holiday, even the doors etc won't be free of urine.

Look at the swab test results done randomly on TV program's.

I agree that on a matter like this, the Embassy/school of Tropical Medichine is the only advice to take.

I would go.The risk is tiny, your more likelt to get knocked over in traffic

What do family and friends there say? They have a better idea of the risk where you will be, and also presumably don't want you to get ill.

In your place I would probably go, after checking with the Embassy and family and friends what the situation is exactly where you are going. Ebola is actually relatively difficult to transmit: it's not airborne, it can be relatively easily contained, and the pathogen can be killed with soap and bleach.

As long as you do not eat bushmeat, are not nursing an Ebola patient and are not working in a clinical setting your risk is minimal. And take the normal precautions you would against HIV/AIDS transmission.

In contrast, if there were a flu outbreak in the region you were going to, I would say stay away: it's much more dangerous.

The UK high commission will be honest with you. If they have not evacuated non-essential personnel, then that means that the children of UK staff will still be living in Sierra Leone. If they thought there was a serious risk, they would tell you.

All the evidence looked at so far suggests that you should go and enjoy yourself, depending upon your exact destination and what you intend to do.

Just had a thought. What passport do you have? Are you a dual national? If there was to be an evacuation of UK citizens then as a dual national you would have no rights, or at least that is my understanding but the guidance is unclear.
My DD is a dual national and I have just taken her to her father's country where the FCO advice against travel to some parts and I tried to find out what would happen if there was an evacuation and couldn't.

Not to state the obvious, but I am assuming you have already bought a medical kit with saline, sharps, suture kits etc? (Also, - top tip - I have superglue in mine, so you can fix quite deep cuts yourself without having to go to hospital where the infection risks are scarily high). I would go, but be vigilant, not just sensible.

and , of course, Malaria is a big risk.