Travel to Tunisia and Ebola

[atticusclaw]

I was about to book a holiday to Tunisia for May of next year. It isn't on the coast, it's more of an adventure type holiday using public trains, eaten with local families, camping in the sahara etc.

I've just googled and seen that Tunisia now has suspected cases of Ebola (which may well of course have increased in number by May). I'm aware of how ebola is transmitted but am also mindful of putting the DCs in harms way when there are other holiday options.

Would you look at Plan B?

What did you find on Googling? I could only find one case from a week ago where a new arrival was quarantined with suspicious symptoms. As he'd arrived from Italy where he'd been living for some time it didn't seem likely that he'd actually got Ebola and as the lab results would be back by now and I've not seen anything about its being confirmed it seems even less likely. Are there other cases?

Tunisia's a very long way from West Africa. I'd assume the odd case they may have had there would be someone returning on a flight from west Africa, and no more of an issue than the cases in Spain, the US or the UK even.

Obviously that could change by May, who knows? Best bet is probably too book your trip as a package so if the Foreign Office advises against travel they'll cancel it and you'd get your money back

Yes, that was the one I saw plus a reference to Ebola on a travel chat forum (which might have been a reference to the same case of course)

I know I'm being ultra cautious but I was literally about to hit the button to book the holiday when it suddenly occurred to me that by May there may well be confirmed cases and this is the type of holiday where there will be lots of exposure to local people and where the facilities are likely to be less sanitary

I'm talking myself into Pompeii instead here (ironically italy where the suspected Ebola case would have originated from!)

What this case has shown is that Tunisia is on the lookout for sick people entering the country and is sticking them into precautionary isolation as a proactive measure. I wouldn't be put off Tunisia by Ebola concerns; anyone arriving there from the outbreak area will realistically have to arrive by plane and once on a plane could go anywhere so there's no reason Tunisia should be higher risk than anywhere else outside the outbreak zone.

Would you think twice about going to the USA or the UK? - there's been cases there too!

No, but the conditions in those countries are totally different. We would be staying with local people in primitive conditions with little in terms of sanitary controls.

But so long as you aren't staying with local people who were obviously unwell there wouldn't be a problem.

And that's even assuming that it spread to have a substantial number of cases in Tunisia, which seems far from likely -- Senegal and Nigeria both managed to stop Ebola spreading beyond an initial handful of cases, and economically Tunisia is far more on a par with those than with Sierre Leone, Liberia or Guinea which are some of the poorest countries in Africa.

I think there's actually more in common between the UK/US and Tunisia than there is between Tunisia and Liberia in terms of ability and readiness to swiftly stamp out an initial Ebola outbreak.

Even in remote rural areas, Tunisia is hardly primitive. There may be political instability, but in general terms the population is well educated, healthy and has a decent life expectancy. You don't get that in a country with 'primitive' conditions. Have you ever actually been there before op?

Yes I have been there. I've also been to many other similar countries in the region and stayed far away from tourist areas and so I know what the conditions are likely to be like.

We have decided that since nobody really knows what the situation will be like by next year we will put off the trip this time and go somewhere else. Once the picture is clearer we will go. Hopefully all will be fine anyway but there seems little point in risking having to change holiday plans at the last minute.

That's such a shame - you are very risk averse. Pompeii will be interesting though.

My friend arrived in Tunisia yesterday for his honeymoon....I don't think there are any concerns there at the moment x