Angola,
May 1999-- A recent outbreak of poliomyelitis (commonly known as polio)
in Angola has prompted concern in the worldwide health care community. The
virus has become widespread in Africa because of the extremely small percentage
of children who receive routine vaccinations, and the World Health Organization
(WHO) is increasing funding to the area in order to help achieve its goal
of eradicating polio worldwide by the year 2000. WHO’s strategy includes
attempts to arrange cease-fires in war zones to make health care workers
available to administer polio vaccines. Also, WHO plans more frequent national
immunization days requiring children of certain age groups in select areas
to be immunized whether or not they have already received the vaccine, as
the accuracy of immunization histories can be dubious.More encouraging reports announce that only a few cases of polio are thought to exist in parts of Asia and in India, and these areas still expect to be polio-free as projected by the year 2000. The polio eradication effort has made great strides since 1988, when the virus "circulated widely on all continents except Australia," according to WHO. Southeast Asia is already believed to be polio-free, and the Americas have been officially polio-free since 1994. Polio vaccinations will be discontinued worldwide when no polio cases have been reported for five years. Although only the specific areas where cases have been reported recently require travelers to have booster doses, all travelers should make sure that their polio vaccinations are up to date until such time as global eradication has been declared.
Cameroon,
September 28, 1999-- The U.S. Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon advises all
U.S. citizens traveling to Cameroon that water service to the capital city
of Yaounde has been suspended. This problem does not affect other areas
of Cameroon. Residents are relying on catchment systems or local creeks
and streams for their water needs. Many hotels are without water. Bottled
water is locally available, but potentially in short supply. The American
Embassy in Yaounde does not anticipate the quick restoration of water services
and recommends that U.S. citizens either defer travel to Yaounde or make
certain they have access to an alternate supply of water. The U.S. Embassy
in Yaounde will continue to provide the full range of consular services.
Congo,
September 30, 1999-- The U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa made the following
announcement to the local American community on September 29, 1999: According to foreign exchange regulations issued by the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Central Bank on September 22, 1999, it is illegal for anyone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC) to possess foreign currency. U.S. citizens and all other persons traveling to or from DROC are required to declare all foreign currency in their possession. Upon their arrival in DROC, travelers have three business days to deposit their foreign currency in a bank-run exchange house. These institutions will buy foreign currency deposited by travelers upon their arrival; however, it is unclear whether or not they will sell foreign currency to travelers upon their departure. In addition, the regulations reiterate that local currency must be used for all commercial transactions in DROC, including salary payments, and notes that there are criminal sanctions for noncompliance.
Maps courtesy of ITA's Quick Maps used with permission.
For questions and comments about Worldtravelcenter.com, its World Travel Health newsletter, or its travel companion jetStream, contact Laura Bauer:
laura@worldtravelcenter.com
Phone: 1-800-234-1862
GlobalNotes
North
and Central America
South
America
Eastern
Europe
Africa
Asia
Feature Articles
Food and
Water Safety
Altitude
Sickness
Driving
Tips
Cosmic
Radiation
jetStream
Travel Stories
Travel
Insurance Primer
Fun and Games
Travel
Health Quiz
