Dengue Fever Outbreak

I'm on the U.S. Embassy's mailing list and I just received the following e-mail about the Dengue Fever Outbreak, a vector born disease. It's good I'm no where near mosquitos because I'd be the first one to be covered in bites. All the exchange student trips to the north have been postponed.


"This Warden Message, a follow-up to our message of March 27, 2009, is to
alert U.S. citizens in and traveling to Argentina that the Argentine
Ministry of Health reported 10,594 confirmed cases of dengue fever in
Argentina as of April 12, 2009. Up until recently, cases had been
restricted to the northern Argentine provinces of Chaco, Salta,
Catamarca, Tucuman, Corrientes and Jujuy, however 107 cases have now
been confirmed in the capital and in Buenos Aires Province. The Health
Ministry reported that all suspected and confirmed cases in Buenos Aires
had been imported from the most affected provinces, but media reports
said that at least five infected people had not traveled outside of the
capital region. Dengue fever is a mosquito-transmitted illness, for
which there is no vaccine, and no specific treatment. Dengue
hemorrhagic fever is a rare, more severe and sometimes fatal form of the
disease. For the latest information, you may visit the ministry's
website at http://www.msal.gov.ar/htm/site/default.asp
or call 0800-222-1002.



The Ministry of Health recommends eliminating sources of standing water,
which form breeding grounds for mosquitoes. To further reduce the risk
of contracting dengue, Argentine officials and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend wearing clothing that exposes as
little skin as possible and applying a repellent containing the
insecticide DEET (concentration 30 to 35 percent) or Picaridin
(concentration 20 percent or greater for tropical travelers). Because
of the increased risk of Dengue fever and the ongoing risk, practicing
preventative measures is recommended by the CDC. For further
information on Dengue fever, please visit the CDC's website at:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/dengue/index.htm
. "

Best of Santiago (So Far)

Some highlights from my trip to Santiago, Chile:

• Taking the metro. Santiago has really good public transportation and a very clean/safe metro system that's very extensive. Unfortunately it takes me 2 hours to get from where I'm staying in Buin (a suburb of Santiago) to Barrio La Reina in Santiago.
  
• Cheap food and drinks. Sometimes 1/5 the price of Buenos Aires
• Cajon de Maipo. About an hour outside of Santiago in the mountains. Places to hike, hot springs, solitude.

See My Photos Here

Buenos Aires

I can’t think of many cities that I don’t like (Los Angeles) so when I say that I absolutely love Buenos Aires I know my words don’t carry much weight. However, having seen most of Argentina as well as parts of Chile and Uruguay, I can say that it is my favorite part of Argentina.
Best of Buenos Aires:
• Recoleta Cemetery- Burial sight of Argentina’s wealthy and powerful, Recoleta, with its stone mausoleums of designs varying from modest to outrageous, has a certain charm: abandoned graves—I’ve literally seen a basket with a skull and bones inside—to polished marble buildings lit on the inside by crystal chandeliers, the eclectic mix of new and old, rich and famous, remembered and forgotten.
• Palermo SoHo- My favorite neighborhood. Not quite as ritzy as Barrio Recoleta and with a hell of a lot younger residents, Palermo is dominated by boutique shopping, trendy restaurants, and café culture.
• Café culture- When you go to a café in Buenos Aires you see your waiter three times: when they give you the menu, when they take your order, and when they give you the check. Having been accosted one too many a time by the over zealous Red Robin waiter, the hands off-take your time to enjoy your meal and company attitude is especially appealing. You can leave the tip calculator behind as well; gratuity is included in the bill.
• Taxis- Unlike in the United States the taxis in Buenos Aires are pleasantly cheap (a 20 minute cab ride costs about $6 USD) plus the ride is always an adventure. Lanes are a suggestion on 9 de Julio, the worlds widest avenue. I’ve met some really interesting taxi drivers in Buenos Aires. My favorite would have to be the driver singing along with “I Want to Know What Love Is” on the way to the airport.
• Culture Clash- 1/3 of Argentines are of Italian ancestry. Great gnocchi. Angry drivers.