News Release Archive
HEALTH--PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATION ADVISORY ----------------------------------------------------------------- Public health officials say some Maritimers returning from the Dominican Republic are reporting symptoms consistent with bacterial infections commonly passed in unsanitary food and water. Residents of Nova Scotia who are planning a vacation in Mexico, Latin America or the Caribbean should be reminded of precautions routinely recommended for visitors to such areas. At least seven confirmed cases of shigella infection and seven other infections have been identified. Shigella is an organism that causes an infection of the bowel and is spread by direct contact with an infected person's stool or by eating or drinking contaminated food or water. The most common symptom of the illness is diarrhea, but other symptoms include abdominal cramps, nausea, loss of appetite or fever. Shigella is treatable with antibiotics. Travellers from Canada may experience such illness while travelling abroad in less developed countries if they consume local water, or food prepared with local water. Anyone travelling to such a tropical destination should take some simple precautions to avoid illness: - drink purified water (by boiling or to which iodine or chlorine has been added) or commercially bottled beverages in sealed containers; - check to ensure milk and dairy products are pasteurized; - choose fruit that can be peeled. It is usually safe. Salads, re-heated foods, uncooked shellfish, dishes containing raw or uncooked eggs, such as homemade mayonnaise, some sauces such as hollandaise and desserts such as mousse and food from street vendors should be avoided; - avoid ice unless it is certain that it has been made with purified water; - make sure cooked food has been thoroughly and freshly cooked and is served hot; - use purified water for cleaning teeth; - hand washing is one of the most important ways to prevent infection. If you get ill while you are away and are still ill when you get home, please contact your family doctor for tests. Health Canada has been contacted so public health authorities in the Caribbean can be made aware of the situation. Be informed of the risks and how to avoid them. And remember the popular advice; cook it, peel it or leave it. -30- Contact: Lori MacLean 902-424-5025 trp Apr. 7, 1997 - 3:42 p.m.