Avia Flu Outbreak In Uganda Is Bad News For Travel, Tourism And Safaris

An Avia Flu outbreak in Uganda is bad news, also for the travel and tourism industry. However, tourists heading to Uganda have been reassured that they are most unlikely to come into contact with infected birds and need not fear or resort to canceling their safari vacations in Uganda or anywhere else in East Africa for that matter.

Tests carried out on dead birds found on the shores of Lake Victoria between the capital Kampala and Entebbe, the location of the international airport, but also in Masaka District, have proved positive of avian flu, government officials confirmed late yesterday and earlier today.

A formal press conference is taking place right now at the Uganda Media Centre where Minister of State of Agriculture, Hon. Kibazanga, has confirmed the presence of the disease in East Africa.

Neighboring countries also bordering Lake Victoria are said to have instituted prompt measures to raise surveillance and monitoring on local and migratory bird populations to determine if the disease has also spread to their own shores.

Lutembe Bay, a major migratory bird route waypoint into and out of Africa, is one of the locations where dead birds were found.

Global organizations are also said to be preparing emergency support measures for Uganda to contain the outbreak and fight the further spread of the disease.

Uganda is among the countries in sub-Saharan Africa that face a high risk of a bird flu outbreak because it is crisscrossed by several routes for migratory birds, which are carriers of the virus.

Bird flu or avian influenza is an infectious disease of birds caused by type A strains of the influenza virus, according to World Health Organization.

The infection can cause a wide spectrum of symptoms in birds, ranging from mild illness, which may pass unnoticed, to a rapidly fatal disease that can cause severe epidemics.

According to the global health body, avian influenza viruses do not normally infect humans but there have been instances of certain highly pathogenic strains causing severe respiratory disease in humans.

Sources close to government are concerned,  it is the type of avian flu not known to spread to humans but, nevertheless, have officials called to be careful not to handle domestic chicken and other poultry and in particular not to touch any birds found dead to avoid any possibility of the virus crossing over to humans.

Alerts have been raised before in Uganda mainly because the country is part of the migratory bird corridor into Africa and past training will come in handy now to tackle the outbreak here in Uganda.

The Most And Least Loved Safari Tourists

Over 400 African safari operators participated in the largest survey of its kind to reveal the most and least loved safari tourists. The results are in and Americans are the clear winner.

 

SafariBookings.com, the largest online marketplace for African safari tours conducted this extensive survey. In similar surveys for other destinations, Americans are often one of the least favored tourists. But not in Africa. They love Americans. No less than 85% of the surveyed operators rated Americans as pleasant to very pleasant. They indicated Americans are friendly, have great humor, and tip generously.

Italians are the least favored safari tourists
Although operators appreciate clients from all nationalities, Italians were the least loved. More than 18% of operators found Italians to be annoying, or very annoying. They indicated Italians are ruder, seldom on time, and often completely ignore the guide's instructions. On the bright side, the survey also shows Italians are easy to please.

Brazilians are notorious latecomers and the Dutch are least likely to tip
The survey also included other stereotypes. Brazilians love life… and are the 2nd worst latecomers, after Italians. A stunning 45% of operators indicated Dutch to be the worst tippers. Of all other nationalities, only the French came close to them in the “poor tipping” department.

British are hard to please, Germans most punctual
Overall, British tourists did very well. Operators hold them in high regard. They said British are polite, on time, and pay attention to the guide's instructions. The only point of criticism was, according to 55% of operators, the British are most hard to please.  Germans are considered to be most punctual. Over 61% of operators indicated Germans are always on time. Regarding punctuality, British and Germans scored significantly better than other nationalities.

Native English speakers are more friendly and more fun
Surprising was that nationalities who have English as their native language scored much better than non-English nationalities. We were unable to explain exactly why, but we suspect that having English as the native language makes it easier to communicate with the tour guide.

Differences between operators in East and Southern Africa
Operators in East Africa are especially fond of American tourists. In Southern Africa, operators are more charmed by British and Canadian tourists. In South Africa they like their national tourists least, although they do think South Africans have a good laugh and are fun to be with.

Source: https://www.safaribookings.com/blog/328/