CTV News Montreal

Updated: Tue Jan. 24 2012 7:44:21 PM

ctvmontreal.ca

MONTREAL — The Caribbean beckons winter-weary Canadians this time of year with its warm sea breezes, tall drinks and sun-baked beaches.

But put aside all jealous thoughts: according to Montreal Infectious Disease specialist Dr. Brian Ward, a significant portion of pleasure-seeking travelers end up perched on a toilet seat.

And the longer the trip, the greater the likelihood of such an attack. Ward says about one in three travelers on the road for two weeks or more will catch a type of tourist bug and suffer the pains of diarrhea.

The norovirus is one of the worst of those afflictions and he believes it's just that which forced a Montreal wedding group to spend its holiday in Cuba suffering extreme pain and digestive discomfort.

Sabrina Sollecito went with about 30 family members to a wedding in Holguin and saw just about every one of the bunch suffer the same ailment.

"It was bad. You start with the discomfort in your stomach, you're feeling nauseous and you know something is wrong," she said. "And of course the vomiting was bad."

The malady tore through the wedding party, picking off wedding party members one by one, stuck in the not-so-great indoors.

"I would notice people dropping off. I would ask where they were. And ‘oh well they're in the room.' And then the next day: ‘where is so-and-so?' ‘They're in the room,'" noted Sollecito's husband Martin Lopes.

Dr. Ward says that though one might try to avoid the bug in such cases, resistance is often futile.

"About 30 percent of travelers who go somewhere for more than two weeks end up with travelers' diarrhea of some kind," said Ward.

"It doesn't mean that people have been careless necessarily. It's just so easy to transmit it from hand to hand from the utensils that are used to serve at buffets."

Comments are now closed for this story

Susie-Q Mtl.
I just got over the "Flu". Had it Since @8 th. Or 29 th. Dec. I have no money to travel any where. I'm afraid of heights. No plane for me. I like trains. Great rail journeys. I like to point out that you can get sick right here at home. Any body can improperly prepare food making one sick-Vomit, the runs, fever, chills, Runny nose, watery eyes etc. I had a cold with my "flu". Just take a good look at your kitchen. What can you do to improve it to make it more healthier? Amen.

ozcanj
I just got back from Holguin Cuba and was in the midst of the outbreak at the Blau resort. This was a giant out break. When we showed up the resort seemed empty. I was sick right a day and a half after getting there. This obviously started there and in the resort they say a German couple brought it with them. When I was leaving I asked the customs lady if there were tons of people leaving sick and she said it was crazy how many people were. For every person you hear about having it assume there is another hundred. On our plane alone there was six people still sick and the one beside us was a five year old girl vomiting all the way home. Her other six relatives were sick on their trip and she was the last to catch it.

Tess
When you go to another country, consider eating where they eat and not on the resorts. I've been to Cuba once and will go again but will never eat on the resorts again. Food was terrible. But when we ate off the resort and took the time to ask the locals where the good places to eat were, the food was great!

Why are you going to another country if you are not willing to experience their culture, which includes their food.

Get your shots, drink lots of coke (kills stomach bugs) and get outside your confort zone

wb toronto
Read yesterday that Britain currently has an outbreak of a virus similar to norovirus, causing day surgeries to be suspended in many hospitals around the country. They called it "winter vomiting disease", so it can happen anywhere.

Caroline
I went to Cuba a week ago and yes, I had diarrhea. Whatever, you just go to the bathroom, take some meds and carry on. My story wasn't written in a journal, surprisingly. On the other hand, Alexandra, you must be crazy or you went to Cayo coco (the food is reputed to be way better) but the food in Cuba is horrible... especially the ''hamburgers''

Aaron
Rumour has it that this is a bug that came from Canada. I heard the bug started in Regina, and a group of people were taken off a plane in TO, that was destined for Cuba.

Jeff H.
The issue is not in the virus itself but our immune system. The folks that live down there have systems that have gotten used to fighting these kind of bugs and are more tolerant. When we come from our federally inspected meals and filtered water environments, we are more likely to catch these otherwise normal bugs than others.

I have a cousin that came from Venezuela and they drink the tap water there where tourists are forbidden to do so because their body won't tolerate the contents.

Traveler
It's silly to travel to a Caribbean location without taking some preventative meds. Especially for something as important as a wedding. These destinations are known for this type of thing.

That said, the destination often takes the blame, however I wondering how often people take the time to think that these bugs have an incubation period and how many contaminated people and surfaces are you exposed to in the airports just before you get there? Something to thing about.

Huh?
@ Real Vallieres- Totally agree with you- wash your hands often! Now the problem is how do you get the people preparing your meal in the restaurant to WASH THEIRS??? I would suspect you must be working in the tourist industry

Real Vallieres
I went to the same resort me and my family had a great time, the food was great and the resurants were clean. I work in a hospital and I know how to avoid getting sick. JUST WAS YOUR HANDS OFTEN, EVEN IF YOU GOT TO WASH THEM 100 TIMES A DAY.

Alexandra
@Mr.Edna: I've been to Cuba four times now, and I've never had any problems with their food. Heck, what they serve is all natural and even better than the food we have here!

anthonykovic
Last week a few people in our office had diarrhea and went home. Surprisigly, we did not contact the media nor notify local health authorities.

The following day most came back to the office after taking some Pepto-Bismul and getting a good night's rest.

Thank God this happened at work and not in Cuba!

Mr John.
Not sure why this was made a story? Everyone knows that many people ...approx 50% + have these kinds of problems when going to other countries as Cuba....it does not mean that it is unsafe...

Goody
Did they have the poops too? The report said nothing about diarrhea.

Mrs. Edna Lickamaid
Did they ever consider that it's the awful food at Cuban resorts? I've been many places in Cuba and other tropical beach countries and the food at many Cuban resorts are stomach turners. Virus or not it's hard to swallow.

One place I went to I got all dressed up to go to the 5 star dining room only to suddenly be confronted with an old lady swinging open the entrance doors, cupped hand over face dripping with vomit. It made a trail on the floor highlighting her trail. I was shocked.

I stood there totally shocked and no one cleaned up the mess. I sat down , feeling ill from this scene while my husband suddenly met me in the lobby and said "are you ready to eat?!?" I had to tell him what I had just witnessed so we decided to eat from the Pizza/Pasta bar which seemed palatable and not nauseau causing.