Health and Safety - Madagascar - page 203

Beware of strolling barefoot on damp, sandy riverbeds and areas of beach where locals
defecate. This is the way to pick up jiggers (and geography worms). Jiggers are female
sand fleas, which resemble maggots and burrow into your toes to incubate their eggs. Re-
move them, using a sterilised needle, by picking the top off the boil they make and teasing
them out (this requires some skill, so it is best to ask a local person to help). Disinfect the
wound thoroughly to avoid infection.
SCUBA DIVING SAFETY IN MADAGASCAR
Liz Bomford with additional information by Rob Conway
Madagascar has some truly wonderful underwater opportunities but divers need to be
cautious. There is no hyperbaric chamber in the country; diving casualties must be
evacuated overseas by air. The nearest recompression facilities are in Kenya, South
Africa, Réunion and Mauritius. As flying exacerbates decompression sickness, this is
not an ideal situation so you need to keep risks to the minimum. Divers Aware Net-
work (DAN) offers comprehensive diving insurance for evacuation from Madagascar
and has experience in doing this.
If you are going to dive in Madagascar you should be an experienced diver, taking
responsibility for your own dives. Madagascar is not suitable for newly qualified
PADI open-water divers. It is essential to dive within guidelines and take your own
computersoyoudonotdependblindlyonthelocaldiveleaders.Donotdivewithany
outfit that does not carry oxygen on the boat. Make sure you ask about this; your life
may depend on it.
There are no regulations in Madagascar and dive operators are not obliged to
providegoodqualityoctopusrigs,ortoserviceequipmentregularly,orindeedtocarry
out any of the 'housekeeping' that is required to provide safe diving. If you can man-
ageit,bringyourownequipment. Alsomakesurethatyouareconservative withyour
dive profiles and take an extra long safety stop on ascending.
Don't be afraid to ask about safety issues. You are not being a wimp. I had a 'bend'
in Madagascar in 2003. If my instructor had not been equipped with oxygen, I would
be dead. As it was, he didn't have enough and I now have mild but permanent neuro-
logical injuries. Don't let them tell you 'there are no accidents in Madagascar'. I was
that statistic and I feel sure I'm not the only one.
Plants Madagascar hasquiteafewplantswhichcause skinirritation. TheworstoneIhave
encountered is a climbing legume with pea-pod-like fruits that look furry. This 'fur' pen-
etrates the skin as thousands of tiny needles, which must be painstakingly extracted with
tweezers. Prickly pear fruits have the same defence. Relief from the secretions of other ir-