Re: [at-l] water filters revisted -JAMAICA-

[WHHAWKINS@aol.com]

 <A HREF="http://travel.state.gov/jamaica.html">Jamaica - Consular 
Information Sheet</A> 

 <A HREF="http://www.cdc.gov/travel/caribean.htm">caribean.htm at www.cdc.gov<
/A> 
THIS INFO. IS FROM THE CDC.
To Stay Healthy, Do:
•Drink only bottled or boiled water, or carbonated (bubbly) drinks in 
cans or bottles. Avoid tap water, fountain drinks, and ice cubes. If 
this is not possible, make water safer by BOTH filtering through an 
"absolute 1-micron or less" filter AND adding iodine tablets to the 
filtered water. "Absolute 1-micron filters" are found in camping/outdoor 
supply stores. •If you visit an area where there is risk for malaria, 
take your malaria prevention medication before, during, and after 
travel, as directed. (See your doctor for a prescription.) •Protect 
yourself from insects by remaining in well-screened areas, using 
repellents (applied sparingly at >4-hour intervals) and 
permethrin-impregnated mosquito nets, and wearing long-sleeved shirts 
and long pants from dusk through dawn. •To prevent fungal and parasitic 
infections, keep feet clean and dry, and do not go barefoot. 

To Avoid Getting Sick:
•Don’t eat food purchased from street vendors. •Don’t drink beverages 
with ice. •Don’t handle animals (especially monkeys, dogs, and cats), to 
avoid bites and serious diseases (including rabies and plague). •Don’t 
swim in fresh water. Salt water is usually safer. 

What You Need To Bring with You:
•Long-sleeved shirt and long pants to wear whenever possible to prevent 
illnesses carried by insects (e.g., malaria, dengue, and leishmaniasis).
 •Insect repellent containing DEET (diethylmethyltoluamide), in 30%–35% 
strength for adults and 6%–10% for children. If you are not staying in 
air-conditioned or well-screened housing, you should purchase a bed net 
impregnated with the insecticide permethrin. (Bed nets can be purchased 
in camping or military supply stores.) •Over-the-counter antidiarrheal 
medicine to take if you have diarrhea. •Iodine tablets and portable 
water filters to purify water if bottled water is not available. See 
above for more detailed information about water filters. •Sunblock, 
sunglasses, hat. •Prescription medications: make sure you have enough to 
last during your trip, as well as a copy of the prescription(s). 

In a message dated 12/6/99 10:03:01 PM EDT, jdsawyer@bu.edu writes:

<< Not to beat a dead horse, but I have a water filter question.  I have a PUR
 Hiker & plan to bring it with me to Jamaica (for those of you who missed
 that installment, I'm going to Jamaica in Dec/Jan), but I'm wondering if
 its enough?  We're doing two hikes and one MTB -- all short day trips that
 don't require me to filter water, however -- so I'm really just bringing it
 to be safe.  Is there stuff in the water down there that my PUR won't take
 out?  Do you think I should bring iodine, instead?  Maybe filter & iodine?  
  >>
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