On matters of Health & Safety

Living in a first world nanny state, Health & Safety risks are of paramount importance. We couldn't possibly engage a holiday without first undertaking a comprehensive risk assessment. In researching the risks, here's a tip that I found especially invaluable from http://www.simplysnorkel.com/docs/SnorkellingAdvice.aspx#safety:

"Only go snorkelling if you can swim"

Right!

On another scuba diving website I found the following quote that amused me: "Coral is made by tiny creatures who go out and collect discarded razor blades and cement them together to build sturdy, defensible homes".

And then you get this: "While malaria has been eradicated for over ten years, other mosquito-borne diseases such as chikungunya, dengue fever and type-B Japanese encephalitis remain present. In the Maldives in January and February 2011, more than 300 dengue fever cases have been reported by health officials. In 2010, 737 dengue fever cases were reported, among them, two cases resulted in deaths"

Chikungunya eh? Well that'll cause joint pain... Dengue Fever? "The condition generally lasts a week or more. Although uncomfortable, dengue fever is not deadly. People with the condition should fully recover." Oh, good. So what happened to the two people in the preceding paragraph then? However, “Japanese encephalitis (JE) is one of the most dreaded mosquito-borne viral encephalitis known to afflict humans. The Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a neurotropic flavivirus that affects the CNS, causing extensive damage that may lead to fatality in about one third of patients”. 


Better not catch that one then!… Didn't the Health & Beauty Directorate ban quinine in Herr Schweppes' tonic water? Oh, hang on, quinine sorted Malaria out... I know that mosquitoes go for moisture so a sweaty old chap like me is bound to be in the firing line... Hopefully mosquitoes hate cigarette smoke....