TRAVEL & TOURISM

Travelers should be aware of little known but deadly disease

By NICHOLAS BARTON CROWDER

Special to Honduras This Week

You have just returned from Honduras after a fantastic trip of hiking, camping and touring off the beaten track with a clean bill of health. But, what you don't know is that you could possibly be carrying an infection they may cause you serious health problems 10, 15 or 20 years down the road. Anyone who travels to Honduras or other parts of Latin America should have some basic knowledge of a little known but lethal illness called Chagas' disease.

In the early part of this century Dr. Carlos Chagas was studying malaria in Brazil. He discovered a parasite in the blood of a child that suffered from enlarged lymph nodes and a fever. This parasite had also been found by Dr. Chagas earlier in an insect. He believed that the parasite was passed by the saliva of the infected insect. However, this was proved wrong. It was discovered that the parasite actually was passed through the feces of the infected insect into the victim.

It is the kissing bug (family Reduviidae) -- called chinche picudo in Honduras and vinchuca in other parts of Latin America -- that carries the parasite. Oval in shape, it has a brown color and normally is two centimeters long. It has two pairs of wings. It requires blood from vertebrates for survival. It prefers the face and usually will feed for about 20 minutes. While the insect is feeding on human blood, it defecates and the parasite can pass into the wound. Since most attacks take place while the victim is sleeping, he or she will unknowingly rub the bite which further pushes the parasite into the blood system. The parasite can also enter through the cells covering the mucous of the mouth and nostrils.

A hard violent swelling will most likely appear at the location on the bite. This can transpire in about a week and is a reaction of the parasite. Hopefully, white blood cells surround the parasites and destroy them. However, some of the parasites can escape and enter the blood system. They attack the heart, brain, liver and spleen. About two percent of cases can develop an acute infection and children can be extremely susceptible.

It is believed that 16-18 million people in Latin America are infected. Symptoms can include: fever, rash, anorexia, diarrhea, vomiting, swollen lymph nodes, and an enlarged liver. In adults an acute infection will usually cause enlargement of the heart. In most cases any symptoms will disappear within four to eight weeks. The victim will continue to live a normal life and not demonstrate the acute form. However, the unsuspecting victim may not realize the results for many years until a serological test is performed. The ultimate manifestation is heart disease. The heart muscles become infected with scar tissue which thins the walls of the hear. Irreversible heart damage can occur. There may also be irreversible damage to the nervous center.

While urban areas suffer from this parasite, it is in the rural areas with poor housing that it really does the damage. Improved housing is crucial to eradicating the disease as well as destruction of the insect carrying the parasite. DDT has had little impact. Some success has been had the use of Diedrin, fumigant canisters and special paints. There are no drugs to prevent the infection.

Rules for preventing Chagas disease

* Try not to sleep in huts. The parasite-carrying vinchucas reside in the palm-frond roof and in the cracks of walls.

* If you are staying in older or budget hotels, be sure to check for hidden insects mattresses, behind pictures, drawers and any dark areas such as closets. Having insect repellent with DEET may help.

* Using pyrethrin insecticides to kill insects should work. Spray under your bed and in all cracks.

* If handling any insects be sure to use gloves.

* Bed nets may be effective. Placing a cloth over the net will keep feces from falling through the net.

* When choosing a campsite stay away from palm trees as well as stone or wood piles.

* There is minimal or no risk of being infected via blood transfusions in most major public hospitals. Blood bank screening is mandatory in Honduras.

Rural areas in the following departments in Honduras below 4,900 feet elevation may pose risk to Chagas' Disease: Choluteca, Comayagua, Copan, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Intibuca, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Bárbara, and Yoro. The International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers (IAMAT) is non-profit association dedicated to research involving health matters for travelers. They have more information may be obtained at IAMAT-736 Center St., Lewiston, NY 14092.

Nicholas Crowder is the editor of Latin America Traveler a bimonthly journal covering travel and culture in Latin America. He can be reached at P.O.Box 62921, Phoenix, AZ 85082-2921 or e-mail crowdpub@goodnet.com

Paradise awaits just 100 yards off the beaten path

By MELANIE WETZEL

PERSONAL REPORT

OSGOOD KEY, Roatan -- Just 100 yards from Warren's grocery store and McLaughlin Hardware in Coxen's Hole is an undiscovered paradise of sandy beaches, jungle trails, and clear blue seas. It is Osgood Key and it is 14 acres of eco-traveler's paradise.

You can only get there by boat, a small glass-bottomed ferry, and as you putter across the cove you will pass over a 90-year-old wreck sitting in just three feet of water. Visibility on the inland side is usually about 5-35 feet.

Soon the boat pulls up to the dock in front of the biggest building on the key, a combination hotel-restaurant operated by Jerry Leonard.

As in all Roatan, the fish, lobster, and shrimp are fresh and delicious. The rooms upstairs rent for $10 a night, and there are also cabins on the ocean side of the key.

Aside from a few historic foundations, these are the only manmade structures on the key. The rest of the islet is pure jungle with nearly a mile of paths cut through it. The Gilligan's Island fantasy come true.

GRAND TOUR

I suggested to Jerry that he give me the grand tour so I could take pictures, so off we went down a jungle path. Jerry pointed out the many varieties of fruit trees. "It's a constant battle with the poachers," he said. "They take bananas, mangoes, avocados, iguanas, lobster." But the lobster are fair game; this is not part of the marine park reserve.

As we continued there were hermit crabs as thick as ants, and I tried to avoid stepping on them, while keeping my eyes open for snakes. "There's no snakes, just iguanas," shouts Jerry from up ahead, "and they don't bite."

But as the jungle on all sides got thicker and noisier, I had trouble believing that there's nothing out here that bites. I soon realized I should not have worn my Birkenstocks to go jungle-trekking, and a second application of insect repellant would have been smart. There is not the amount of sand flies here that you would find in other parts of Roatan, but in the interior there are plenty of mosquitos.

Jerry seemed to know all the history, and as we went he pointed out the foundation of a hotel from the early part of this century, as well as a cement slab where the boiler sat for coconut oil production. A huge pile of coconut husks marked the spot.

After a detour to see the banana plantation, the path finally led out to the beach. The wind off the ocean was a welcome relief to the humidity of the interior. We passed by the dock and the cabins on the beach and watched the surf roll over the reef 40 yards offshore. Just beyond the reef there is a 180-foot drop off to blue water.

We strolled back to the restaurant the short way, along the beach. I sat down to have a beer and pretended I was shipwrecked and couldn't leave.

THE PLACE TO BE

Most days the key is very quiet. Actually, quiet would be an understatement. Thursdays are a little wild; the crew from the cruise ship, which docks right down the road, come to the key for their rest and relaxation after work. And Sundays many of the children and young people from Coxen's Hole come for their weekend picnics and swimming. But there's plenty of room for everyone. Just pretend that they got shipwrecked with you.

Osgood Key is a perfect place to see the local ecosystem, including the problems affecting it. The key's palm tree population has been severely affected by the lethal yellow sickness, which has left dead and dying palms in many places. But there are 100 baby disease-resistant palms that have recently been planted, and seem to be doing well.

Another ecological disaster is trash. Because of its location right next to the area of highest population on Roatan, much of the local trash washes up on the shore of the inland side of the key. If you get a chance to pitch in and collect a little, the owners, the other visitors and the crabs will thank you.

Osgood Key is also a great place for families with children who want to explore the jungle with minimal risk of getting lost, for backpackers who don't want to be surrounded by other backpackers, for armchair biologists who want to count crabs and avocados, for snorkelers who want to catch dinner while they are down there, and for anyone else who wants to catch a glimpse of what this place would look like if people had never come.

GETTING THERE

Just walk down the road from Warren's grocery, past the Caye View Hotel, and just before McLaughlin Hardware you will see a sign that directs you to the water front. If the boat is not waiting, it will be there soon. The boat runs from early morning until around 10 p.m. If you are still on the islet after 10, you are staying.