PhlyingRPh

Good idea ^

Life_Platinum

I just searched on Dengue fever and found an outbreak in Pakistan and one in India, with isolated cases in Hong Kong and other places. The following is an article that describes some of these in India:

Of Dengue Fever Up By 32; 9940 Affected As Monsoon Ends

November 14, 2006 2:42 p.m. EST


Jacob Cherian - All Headline News Staff Writer
New Delhi, India (AHN) - The total number of people affected with Dengue fever in India has climbed to 9,940 as 32 fresh cases of the disease were reported nation-wide.

Health officials in the country say that the incidence of dengue is likely to decline.

The death toll across the country has hit 183.

As of Tuesday, National Vector Borne Disease Control Program reported 32 new cases.

A health official told the Press Trust of India, "Out of these cases, 22 are from Delhi."

Government reports confirm 172 deaths from dengue in India.

In 2005, 157 died while 11, 985 were affected by the mosquito-borne disease.

In the capital, New Delhi, three people died from dengue on Tuesday; all three deaths took place at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a hospital where thousands of patients have been treated for viral fever since an outbreak in October.

In the meantime, health workers are turning to insecticide sprays across New Delhi in an attempt to kill mosquito larvae.

Typically, the dengue spreads as the monsoon tapers off, leaving behind stagnant water for the insects to breed.

Female mosquitoes are the culprits that transmit the mosquito-borne disease with symptoms ranging from fever, joint pain, headache to vomiting. It can also be fatal in some cases.

Generally, India's yearly outbreak ends when the mosquito-breeding season is over in November.

Nonetheless, health inspectors have been checking overpopulated residential areas for stagnant water left behind from the monsoon. In New Delhi, last week, authorities stopped all water fountains as a preventive measure.

GUWonder

Sickness-related issues are far more of a concern for most American and European tourists than ending up in a criminally life-threatening situation in India. However, stay at good hotels, use insect repellant, and adjust a few other habits (especially those dealing with the hands and mouth, including eating/drinking habits) and most sickness-related issues won't arise -- even when there's reports of an epidemic in the India media.

grumbler

I think that is the case, presuming you are talking about restaurants and not including eating at home. Though restaurants are now a big part of Indian social life in the cities, the best cooking in India is still done in homes and not in restaurants.

If you are comparing restaurants, London has better high end Indian than Mumbai or Delhi (anyway, most Mumbaikars or Delhites are running to other types of cuisine for their nights out, like Thai). Part of the reason for this is that the quality of the ingredients is often much better in the UK at the high end - especially on non-veg dishes. The chefs are the same - there is a brisk transfer market for high end Indian chefs worldwide.

There are some super restaurants in the big Indian cities (often in hotels - for example, Bukhara in the Delhi Maurya Sheraton gets lots of press, though it is overrated) - but places like Rasoi, Tamarind, Benares and the other high stylin' modern Indian restaurants (which are not fusion) in London are very good (and at least two of them have received Michelin stars).

anaggie

It has benn over hyped...My sister in law and my neice -- barely trurned 2 yrs old born in the US...are in India as I type...NO DENGUE....whatsover hit them ...and they are travelling all over the place....

etch5895

not unless the Big Mac is seasoned with Garam Masala

I can't remember the last time I ate at a McDonalds.

GUWonder

Along the same lines as above:

The Indian media tends to hype disease outbreaks. Personally, I've yet to meet anyone (besides politicians and some doctors) who've met anyone to catch one of the headline-grabbing diseases during any of the much discussed outbreak in the past decade or two in the major Indian cities. It's avoiding the more typical illness (basically upset stomachs) that are more of a concern than physical safety or headline-grabbing health scares.

GUWonder

A US-style Big Mac won't happen in India on the upcoming visit, but there's the Maharaja Burger -- which doesn't catch the fancy of those whom I've known to try it. Now the McDonalds Mexican chicken wrap that I get in India (which I've only seen at McDonalds in India) is another story (i.e., usually liked).

etch5895

Don't worry...to get me to walk into a McDonalds of my own accord would take a miracle akin to Moses parting the Red Sea. I am usually a strickly local eatery type when travelling. One exception...I have gone to McDonalds in Germany to get a 'somewhat' proper cup of coffee in a take away cup. The stuff you get at the autohofs on the Autobahns for 2 euro just doesn't cut it (the cup or the coffee).

PhlyingRPh

Is it like the McArabia wrap in Pakistan and the UAE (i.e., two chicken sandwich patties in a flat bread with lettuce, tomato and some sort of secret sauce?

GUWonder

The Mexican chicken wrap, unlike the McArabia wrap, doesn't have any tomatoes; the Mexican chicken wrap usually has one large fried-type chicken patty, some red/green salad stuff and some sort of "mystery" (to me) sauce and a bit of melted cheese inside a rolled-up thinner, chapati-like bread. (We ask them to not include the cheese on our Mexican chicken wrap orders, as a personal preference.)

PhlyingRPh

Similar concept then and a tad patronizing too if I may put my anti-globalization hat on for a moment.

GUWonder

Very similar concept, but the McArabia bread is more pita-like than chapati-like.

I too am just wondering why Pakistan doesn't get the Mexican chicken wrap and India doesn't get the McArabia one too. If I recall, Arabic and persons/objects from Arabia came to India before there was a Pakistan.

Also, why does Pakistan not have a Maharaja burger and why does India not have a Nawab burger? ROTFLOL A nawab burger can't be any worse than a maharaja burger. With due respect to the "Quit India" movement (and it's equivalents in South Asia, such as "Quit Kashmir", etc.), maharaja/nawab burger could be tossed as far as I'm concerned. (This is not a commentary on contemporary activities of the former maharajas and nawabs still around or their families, many of whom make great contributions; it's a commentary on a food item I don't like and decades-old history.)

India doesn't have a McKofta sandwich. Nor does it ever have the mango milkshake. What's up with that?

PhlyingRPh

LOL

This is why borders should not exist!

anaggie

Agreed, but the restaurants in India have a certain local flavor than London just cannot duplicate !!!!