Comment 1

Foodborne illnesses related to water contamination can be prevented by 30% according to the CDC. One of the most common foodborne illnesses is Travelers’s diarrhea, which is usually transmitted via fecal-oral route. Contaminated food and water, and improper hand hygiene after using the restroom are directly related to the transmission of TD. Bacteria are most commonly the cause of TD, specifically enterotoxigenic escherdchia coli and enteroaggregative E. coli.  ETEC is the most common bacterial cause of gastroenteritis on cruise ships   “Over 68 million Americans traveled abroad in 2014, and the annual number of international tourist arrival worldwide has reached more than 1 billion.” (Giddings, Stevens, & Leung, 2016) Of those travelers, approximately 25% report being affected by TD. The impact is global, and is responsible for millions in health care costs. All traveler’s should be ‘stakeholders’ in preventing TD, whether you are traveling for business or pleasure.  Since the cases are highest on cruise ships, these companies are employing additional hand washing stations throughout the ships, and more concentrated in common dining areas, and often there is an attendant standing and waiting by the sink to insure people use the hand washing station, as well as stock any supplies when they run out. With these added elements, foodborne illness decreased from 27.2 to 22.3 per 100,000 travel days from 2008-8014. (“Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” 2017)

Comment 2

Zika virus is one of the major health issues that has raised concern in many countries globally (Besnard et al., 2014). Zika is a type of virus that is spread by Aedes species of mosquito. Aedes mosquito bite people both during the night and day. Zika virus can pass through the placenta of pregnant mothers and can substantially cause birth deformities. The virus can also be transmitted sexually from an infected person. The lack of vaccination for the virus has posed a great challenge in its control (Besnard et al., 2014). The symptoms of Zika virus include muscle pains, joint pains, rash, fever, headache, and red eyes. The virus does not cause death or serious hospitalization of the infected patients since most of the patients built immunity against the virus once infected.

Zika virus has been widely reported in most of the parts of the world with exception of Europe and Antarctica (Besnard et al., 2014). It is however commonly reported in Miami community in Florida in the United States. In 2026, The World Health Organization issued travel notices for areas affected by the Zika virus including the Asian countries of Singapore and Maldives, multiple countries and areas in the Caribbean, The Pacific Islands, and African countries of Guinea-Bissau and Morocco.

Through educating the communities on prevention of the Zika virus transmission from the travelers (Musso et al., 2015). This initiative can be achieved through health care systems working collectively and collaboratively. The prevention of bites from Aedes mosquito is very important since the Zika virus has no vaccination. The education of protected sex practices is paramount for those who may have been exposed to the virus. This minimized transmission of the virus through sex can be realized through using male and female condoms. People traveling out of their countries should be aware of higher risk areas of the virus.