Health emergency in Buenos Aries after 20 die from Swine Flu.The WHO has declared Swine Fever a pandemic, the first for over 40 years. Increases have occurred across the globe but primarily in the southern hempisphere, where winter assists the spread of the virus. Travellers need to be careful before travelling.

 In recent weeks both Peru and Bolivia have experienced unrest, therefore we advise travellers to constantly check the situation.   In Peru on 4th Aug 09 the Shining Path( Maoist terrorist group, highly active in 80 & 90s but dormant for years) killed 3 policeman in Ayacucho province and a further attacks occurred in 2008. Travellers in Peru  should research the situation, as yet travellers have not been targetted. 

Nov 09 - Relations between Colombia and Venzuela deteriorate, Ven' president Hugo Chavez tells his army to prepare for war, visitors are advised to monitor rthe situation closely. 

Since May there has been considerable civil unrest in many of the South African township, these areas should be avoided as attacks on African immigrants is likely to continue. Travellers to Northern Mexico need to take great care as the crime rate is rapidly increasing due to rise of drug related  violence, many towns close to the US border are high risk areas.    

Threat from terrrorism increased in Kenya, authoirities raise security levels at ports & airports on 18 Feb 09 as intelligence sources warn of increased chance of terror attacks, especaily against US targets.  Whilst the country is relativlely stable at present the political colaition is weak and fractured, furhter political inspired violence may well return in 2010 if political lriction between tribal groupings is not solved.

Bird Flu (H5N1) continues to spread across the globe, but at present it is not posing a serious risk to travellers. Travellers are urged to avoid live poulty markets in SE Asia and to continue to check for developments on www.who.int and www.fco.gov.uk.  If you are travelling in an area where an outbreak occurs seek advise immediatly and simple precautions such as the use of alcohol hand gels are strongly recommended to prevent infection.

Objective continues to be concerned over the continued threat of a terrorist attack against tourists in Thailand.  Whilst to date Islamist attacks have been confined to the southern provinces, intellligence assessments are warning of the growing possibility of attacks against the major cities and popular beach resorts. Objective would urge travellers to avoid very popular nightclubs and restaurants in the most popuar beach resorts.  In late Oct 09 there has been an increase on attcks against railways in southeren Thailand.

The threat from terrorism is Indonesia is also high, please check FCO and Australian government web sites for advise.   

The terrorist threat level in Ski Lanka has decreased following the end of the civil war but we still advise against travel to the post conflict areas of north and east of the country.  

Terrorism remains an ongoing problem in some areas of India, travellers are urged to research the current situation, the threat is likely to increase during April's elections. Increased unrest in Assam and Kashmir. 

In South America, Central America and South East Asia there has been a  dramatic rise in cases of dengue fever, the virus is caused by mosquitos which bite in the day time  Symptons are headaches, nausea and sore joints.   The best form of protection is using insect repellant with a high DEET content & covering up to prevent being bitten. No vaccinne is available. If concerned see a doctor immediately.  In the vast majority of cases a full recovery occurrs within a month. In Feb 2010 significant outbreaks of the disease have been reported in Bolivia, Brazil and coastal regions of Ecuador.  See www.who.int  for details and advice.    

See www.bbc.co.uk/longwaydown - see Objective training Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman on the Long Way Down.