Foreign Office tells UK tourists to conduct check 'eight weeks before your trip'
An Africa travel warning has been issued to UK tourists - as cases of a "life-threatening" disease increase in a popular destination. Holidaymakers have been issued a warning over travelling to Cape Verde amid the rise of dengue fever.
The Foreign Office said: "At least eight weeks before your trip, check the current vaccine recommendations for Cape Verde. See where to get vaccines and whether you have to pay on the NHS travel vaccinations page."
"See what health risks you’ll face on Cape Verde including dengue. The Cape Verde government has raised the civil protection warning level for dengue on the islands of Santiago, Fogo and Brava," the Foreign Office said. "Altitude sickness is a risk in parts of Cape Verde. Read more about altitude sickness on TravelHealthPro."
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"Travellers should avoid mosquito bites, particularly during daytime hours," it said. "A dengue vaccine is licensed in the UK for the prevention of dengue disease in individuals from four years of age. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and World Health Organization are in the process of reviewing the product information. Recommendations on the use of this vaccine will be published in due course."
Dengue, also known as dengue fever, is an infection spread by mosquitoes. It's not usually serious and often gets better on its own. Some people get a more severe type of dengue, but this is rare. You can get dengue if you're bitten by an infected mosquito. The mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus bite during the day.
Dengue is very common in certain parts of the world. Dengue does not always cause symptoms. If you do have symptoms, they usually start 4 to 10 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. Some people get a more severe type of dengue a few days after they first started feeling ill, but this is rare.
You may start to feel better with your temperature returning to normal, but about 24 to 48 hours later you may get more serious symptoms.