Dengue fever spreads in Latin America, Caribbean

Dengue fever is spreading across Latin America and the Caribbean in one of the worst outbreaks in decades, causing agonizing joint pain for hundreds of thousands of people and killing nearly 200 so far this year.

The mosquitoes that carry dengue are thriving in expanded urban slums scattered with water-collecting trash and old tires. Experts say dengue is approaching record levels this year as many countries enter their wettest months.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has posted advisories for people visiting Latin American and Caribbean destinations to use mosquito repellant and stay inside screened areas whenever possible.

The disease can incapacitate patients for as long as a week with flu-like symptoms. A deadly hemorrhagic form, which also causes internal and external bleeding, accounts for less than 5 percent of cases but has shown signs of growing.

So far this year, 630,356 dengue cases have been reported in the Americas — most in Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia — with 12,147 cases of hemorrhagic fever and 183 deaths, according to the Pan American Health Organization.

More information: U.S. Centers for Disease Control, www.cdc.gov.

Alaska

Tourists head "Into the Wild"

The new movie, "Into the Wild," tells the story of Christopher McCandless, a young adventurer who wandered across the continent and died in the Alaskan wilderness in 1992 at age 24.

Fans of the film may be inspired to visit some of the locales and landscapes featured. You can even enter a contest to win a trip to Fairbanks, Alaska, part of a joint promotion between the movie and the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau, at www.intothewild.com.

But the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that local tourism officials are also concerned about ensuring the safety of tourists who might come on their own seeking to see the abandoned bus near Denali National Park in Alaska where McCandless died.

The remote site is out of cellphone range, reachable only by hiking the Stampede Trail and fording the Teklanika River.

Meanwhile, the Alaska Travel Industry Association is promoting trip ideas that offer a taste of adventure "with the assurance of survival."

The options include staying at one of Denali Park's lodges; a floatplane trip to a bear-viewing site in Katmai National Park; glacier-trekking in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park; and visiting Gates of the Arctic National Park, accessible only by air. Details at www.travcoa.com.

Transportation

Web site makes getting around easier

Lose the car next time you fly into some cities, and cut down on your carbon footprint — at least while you're on the ground. The Web site, www.hopstop.com, will show you how to get around using public transit.

What's hot: Directions are easy to follow, and you get choices: Do you want to travel by subway and rail only? Bus only? On foot only? You can choose "less street walking/more transfers" or "more street walking/fewer transfers" if you want to rack up steps on the pedometer. It even has a choice of directions in nine languages, including Swahili.

What's not: It could use bus and rail schedules, to make it easier to plan a trip. So far it's limited to eight U.S. cities.

France

Paris airport ranks as one of world's worst

France may be the world's top tourist destination, but the 23 million passengers arriving in Paris have one hurdle to cross before they can get to all that wonderful food and wine: the airport.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says the service offered by Aeroports de Paris (ADP), which runs Charles de Gaulle and other airports around Paris, is one of the worst in the world.

"Airports range from very good — Singapore, for example — to the very bad, and Paris unfortunately comes in at the bottom end of the spectrum," IATA director Anthony Concil said.

He faults the "public-service mentality" of ADP for a nonchalant attitude toward customers — both passengers and airlines.

Compiled by Times staff and news services.