Epi 9

            During spring break it is usually a time where most students take a break from all of their work and relax for the week.  However this spring break was different from all of the other spring breaks I have ever had.  I went on an Alternative Spring Break trip with James Madison University to Jamaica to work with an organization called Committee for the Upliftment of the Mentally Ill.  I have never been to Jamaica before, so I started to ask several questions about the diseases that were prevalent among the homeless culture we were working with.  I found myself using many of the things I was taught in my epidemiology class while I was there.  Since I did not have Internet access, I had to ask the people I was working with to get data about the diseases.  I was most concerned about the spread of Malaria mainly because of the abundance of mosquitos and still water present around the area.  I was told that the mosquitos are always a problem because of the year around warm temperatures, the high amount of still water, and their ability to breed.  I, personally, got over ten mosquito bites while being outside during the day from nine in the morning to three in the afternoon. This was odd to me because it is not usual for the United States to get the amount of mosquito bites during the day, but it is more prevalent at night.  I took all of the information I gathered while in Jamaica and when I got home researched the matter.  I was lucky to find out that Malaria is not a problem in Jamiaca!