Sewage Update For Taghazout 2019
With 70% Of The Village Connected, We Thought The Sickness Was Behind UsPhase 1 Was Complete!
We thought that we were in the clear, we had a great Summer of no one getting sick and were all set for a fantastic Winter season of perfect waves and sunshine….
Sadly the subject that no one wanted to be talking about, is now at the forefront of conversations all over again! It looks like there is something causing people to get sick again in Taghazout. It isn’t everyone and it isn’t anywhere near as severe as last season, but clearly something is happening.
Before everyone jumps down our throats and says why don’t the local businesses all get together and lobby the authorities to do something, we have, are, will continue to do so. BUT, please be aware that these are the same authorities that give us our authorisations to actually run our businesses.
The Surf Berbere Cafe – unfortunately, some people are mistaking the cause for their sickness on food from cafes and restaurants in Taghazout, but really it appears to be some sort of gastro virus going round.
Is it the sewage still?
We don’t actually know what is causing people to get sick at the moment, but we suspect it might be something a norovirus going round. Because the norovirus is so infectious (only a trace amount can pass it between people) and Taghazout is such a communal village (full of surf camps and hostels with everyone living and eating all together) then it only takes one person to bring a norovirus in to the village and then for it to spread like wildfire (much like it does at schools, nurseries and NHS hospital wards). What we’ve seen over the last few weeks is that the sick bug hasn’t left. We’ve had weeks with fewer people getting sick where we think we’ve contained it to just one apartment of guests (which is really unfortunate for them), only to find the following week it seems to have come back and a whole new wave of people are sick.
Our advice to visitors
For people visiting Taghazout, it seems there are a few simple recommendations. If you are elderly or have very young children, the probably avoid coming until it is cleared up. For everyone else, much like any trip to Morocco, there’s a risk of getting sick (having lived in Morocco for nearly 8 years I can say this very simply), but if coming to Taghazout it is heightened. From what we’ve seen it is a 24hr bug for most people and whilst not pleasant it passes pretty quickly and most of our guests that do get sick are back out surfing the next day.
!! UPDATE 2020 - There's A Vaccine !!
Over the last few months guests have been using a new vaccine called DUKORAL which was developed to help prevent traveller’s sickness from e-coli and cholera and seemingly the sickness in Taghazout! It’s great news, everyone that we know has taken the vaccine has not had any of the sick bugs whilst staying in Taghazout.