Concerns over health security are at an all-time high when international travel resumes. Work or vacation may take you or your family to places throughout the world where clean drinking water is not available. Countless top-rated hotels could make a mistake and expose their guests to polluted water. The infections developed from this water may cause guests to question their stay, as the germs may have been contracted through something as simple as a fast dip in the hotel pool, a visit to the sauna, or a shower to end a long day. This article and accompanying infographic will explain how you and your family can ensure your health when travelling.
It’s necessary to break down two of the most prevalent diseases that tourists may come into touch with during their hotel stays in order to understand how to keep safe. Legionnaires’ Disease and Cryptosporidiosis are the names of these two diseases.
Many people recall Legionnaires’ illness as the disease linked to the widely publicised outbreak during the American Legion Convention in the late 1970s. The Legionella bacteria, which can be difficult to trace down, cause this sickness. Approximately 182 hotel guests were affected during the first outbreak, with 29 of them dying as a result of their infection. The bacteria that caused the deaths of these 29 people to grow in untreated water that is then spread through the air. HVAC systems, in other words, are a lethal stimulant for the spread of this bacteria. This problem is worsened in hotels. As a hotel guest, it can be difficult to realise that you rely on the hotel to keep these systems up to date in order to protect your safety and the safety of other guests. If your hotel does not have the right measures in place to combat this bacteria throughout any of your travels, the safest thing for your family to do is escape and find another hotel. Spending time in settings with communal water should be avoided.
If Legionnaires’ disease isn’t present, passengers will most likely be infected with Crypto, a less well-known disease. Cryptosporidium, a parasite, is another frequent visitor of untreated water. It’s possible that you’re not suffering from food poisoning if you encounter severe diarrhoea, nausea, or vomiting while travelling. It’s quite likely that cryptosporidium is to blame. Because this parasite is most usually found in recreational water sources, reducing time spent in hotel pools, hot tubs, or saunas is the safest approach to avoid contracting it.
It’s worth mentioning that these are just two of the most common tiny pollutants that afflict regular travellers. There is a slew of others that should be avoided at all costs on any trip. To do so, stay away from drinking water from areas of the world where the water is of poor quality. Rather, consume bottled water whenever possible. Any first-time traveller to a new area should always conduct some research about the local water health status.
