12:03, Fri, May 23, 2025 | UPDATED: 12:03, Fri, May 23, 2025
The FCDO has issued a new alert for Brits travelling to Sri Lanka (Image: Getty)
The Foreign Office has issued a new travel warning for all British tourists travelling to Sri Lanka. The Ministry of Health of Sri Lanka recently confirmed that there has been a rise in the number of Chikungunya cases in the Colombo and Kotte areas.
According to the authorities, 173 chikungunya cases had been reported in Colombo, Gampaha, and Kandy in the week ending March 14. The Chikungunya virus first spread to Sri Lanka in 1960, but what followed was years of low transmission.
But the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has this week updated its travel advice for all those planning to visit Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka has reported an increase in the Chikungunya outbreak in the Colombo and Kotte areas. (Image: Getty)
The FCDO has identified health risks that could affect British travellers, adding Chikungunya to its advisory alongside Dengue and Zika virus in a new update.
It stated: "Emergency medical treatment outside main cities is not readily available and you may have to be brought to Colombo for treatment.
"Treatment in private hospitals can be expensive and the options for repatriation to the UK or neighbouring countries in an emergency are limited and very expensive.
"Make sure you have adequate travel health insurance and accessible funds to cover the cost of any medical treatment abroad and repatriation."
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Travellers are required to take a vaccination at least eight weeks before the trip, the FCDO has warned.
Travellers should be up to date with routine vaccination courses and boosters as recommended in the UK. These vaccinations include, for example, the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and the diphtheria-tetanus-polio vaccine.
Diphtheria, tetanus, and polio are combined in a single vaccine in the UK. Therefore, when a tetanus booster is recommended for travellers, the diphtheria vaccine is also given.
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