Feverish

When I was preparing to go to Ecuador, before being accepted to FSD Argentina, I read a whole lot about terrifying diseases.  In addition to malaria, typhoid, hepatitis, and the laundry list of other traveler’s sicknesses, they had yellow fever, chigas, and a majority of the population was hosts to parasites.

Thank god I detoured to Argentina!  And even better, Buenos Aires.  The north has a few common issues—yellow fever, malaria, dengue—but for the capital city, you really don’t need any special vaccinations or to take any precautions.  Even the tap water is safe to drink (though not necessarily tasty!) throughout the country.

However, just to be safe, I stocked up on some malaria pills, and got vaccinated against yellow fever.  The travel nurse was very thorough, warning me to bring enough American condoms to last my time abroad (as foreign ones are of questionable quality) and how to avoid mosquito bites (high-deet repellant, light colored clothes).  And I remember her telling me it was important to avoid bites because of dengue fever, as “there’s no vaccine and no specific treatment.”  Suddenly, mosquitoes sounded like more than an itchy annoyance.  But again, I was going to Buenos Aires, practically the first world, and far from the jungles of the north.

And then, a few weeks ago, dengue started popping up in the news…suddenly, it’s a raging epidemic in the north, and new cases are popping up in the capital city everyday.  The Argentine Health Ministry reports that these cases can all be traced back to the Northern provinces, however the media reports otherwise. 

Either way, there’s a buzz in the air, beyond the usual hum of mosquitoes this time of year, as the symptoms are being recited, exclusionary (mucus means it’s probably just a cold) and inclusionary (headaches and muscle pains are indicators of the fever).

However, I hear swine fever is big in the north, so I guess you just can’t win...