The BBC expert shared more common issues travellers face than disease
In recent months, a number of illnesses and outbreaks have occured on cruise ships or in holiday destinations, leaving travellers more cautious about diseases while they are abroad. However, one BBC expert told holidaymakers what they should actually be worried about instead.
Dr Xand appeared on Morning Live on May 11 assuring viewers that hantavirus is “not like Covid” after an outbreak on a cruise ship gained international attention and sparked widespread concern that another pandemic could be brewing.
Looking at recent trends of people getting ill on holidays, Dr Xand noted that your body might be undergoing some major changes when you go away that could contribute to this. He said: “(When) you relax, your hormones change, your adrenaline goes down, your cortisol goes down.”
But these physical changes could leave you at a higher risk for making careless decisions rather than contracting rare and strange viruses. He noted: “The first thing I would say; if you’re on holiday, don’t worry about Hantavirus, worry about crossing the road, look both ways.”
He explained: “Perhaps you’re jet lagged, perhaps hungover. Certainly, you’re in a new place, you’re a bit hot, you’re a bit lost, maybe your shoes are giving you blisters whatever it is. You can be disoriented and things can go wrong quite quickly.”
“Road traffic accidents are the number one danger to travellers around the world.”
Dr Xand urged people to protect themselves from accidents just as much as they want to protect themselves from viruses and illnesses abroad.
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He advised: “Literally, look both ways, wear a seat belt, don’t hire a moped or wear a helmet if you do. Those are the basic things.”
When it comes to cruise ships specifically, Dr Xand explained it’s difficult for health bodies to study how healthy cruise passengers are because there is no fixed populations and people may be travelling to the ship from across the world.
He noted that a few years ago, cruise ships were sometimes known as “a floating petri dish” due to having thousands of people from around the world in a confined space.
Some pre-Covid studies showed cruise ships were “getting safer” and norovirus, which can easily make its way through a cruise ship worth of passengers during a trip, was more likely to be picked up onshore than onboard in general.
Dr Xand added: “Of course, if you are on the cruise ship that’s infected then your chances are a bit different.”
