Current Travel Health News
Travel Health News Digest (2 April 2006)
Cambodia: Avian Influenza, poultry
In Angkor Chey district, Kampot province, south western Cambodia, 3 ducks in 2 family farms were found to have Avian Influenza. The latest outbreak marked the forth time in 2 months the virus had struck in Cambodia after a year without any reported cases.
(Source: ProMED-mail 31 March 2006)
Cameroon: Avian Influenza, bird
The government of Cameroon confirmed that the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus was detected on a wild duck found dead on Lake Malape. This was the 2nd case of bird flu in this country.
(Source: ProMED-mail 31 March 2006)
Czech Republic: Avian Influenza, bird
A dead swan found in the Czech Republic was confirmed to have the highly pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza virus. It was the 1st confirmed H5N1 case in the Czech Republic. The swan was found last week in Hluboka nad Vltavou in the south.
(Source: ProMED-mail 30 March 2006)
Denmark: Avian Influenza, bird
A wild buzzard, found dead in mid-March 2006 in Svinoe Strand, south of Copenhagen, Denmark, was confirmed to carry the H5N1 strain of Avian Influenza. Wild birds were also detected to have the H5 Avian Influenza virus near Skaelskor in Western Zealand County, and near Vang on the island Bornholm.
(Source: ProMED-mail 30 and 31 March 2006)
Egypt: Avian Influenza, human and poultry
The Ministry of Health in Egypt had confirmed the country’s second fatal case of human infection with the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus. The death occurred in a 30-year-old woman from the Qaliubiya governorate. She developed symptoms on 12 March following the home slaughter of chickens. She was hospitalised on 16 March and died on 27 March. At present, the Ministry of Health had confirmed all 5 cases.
H5N1 outbreaks in poultry had now been reported in 19 of the country's 26 governorates.
(Source: World Health Organization 29 March 2006)
The H5N1 strain of Avian Influenza virus had been found in dead birds in Russia's southern province of Volgograd. Preventive work including disinfection was being carried out in the province. In 2005, the virus affected 62 towns in 10 Russian regions, while since the start of this year, 56 towns in nine regions had been affected.
(Source: ProMED-mail 31 March 2006)
Switzerland: Avian Influenza, bird
H5N1 Avian Influenza virus was identified in a pochard duck in Steckborn, Thurgau, on Lake Constance, Switzerland.
(Source: ProMED-mail 1 April 2006)
Israel: Avian Influenza, poultry
H5N1 Avian Influenza continued to affect Israel. Two new outbreaks were reported recently, bringing the total number of affected sites to 9. The newly reported outbreaks occurred in Kibbutz Ma'aleh Hahamisha near Jerusalem and in Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
The H5N1 strain had also been confirmed in poultry in the densely populated Gaza Strip.
(Source: ProMED-mail 30, 31 March 2006)
In Tanzania's Zanzibar archipelago, more than 120 people had been infected with Cholera, and at least 4 people had died in the past week.
The Cholera outbreak in south Sudan had come under control in the 2 most affected areas of Yei and Juba. Up to 20 March, a total of 8 923 cases and 238 deaths had been reported.
In Angola, 8 people had died out of the 26 cases of Cholera in Ndalatando, northern Kwanza-Norte Province. The Cholera epidemic seriously affecting capital of Angola Luanda for a month has recorded a total of 1 038 cases, including 23 deaths since 13 February. It had now spread to 2 other provinces with a total of 42 people dead, including 12 and 8 deaths in Benguela and north Kwanza respectively.
In Uganda, 3 people had died of the Cholera subtype Inaba in the Moyo district. Over 20 people were admitted to health centre. At least 5 people were admitted every day with mild diarrhoea.
(Source: ProMED-mail 31 March 2006)
Mauritius: Hong Kong Traveller Contracted Chikungunya Fever
The Department of Health confirmed an imported case of Chikungunya Fever. The 66-year-old male visited Mauritius in Africa from 16 to 22 March. He developed fever, chills, rigor, and muscle pain on 22 March and sought medical treatment upon returning to Hong Kong. He was now in stable condition. Initial investigation showed that the patient did not apply any insect repellents during travel.
(Source: Department of Health, Hong Kong SAR 29 March 2006)
Chikungunya Fever had struck a village in Perak, Malaysia, with 30 cases detected since 2 weeks ago. This was the 1st time that a Chikungunya outbreak was detected in Malaysia since 1999.
(Source: ProMED-mail 2 April 2006)
Chikungunya Fever had affected more than a quarter of people living on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion. Some 218 000 people out of a total population of 777 000, contracted Chikungunya Fever in the last year, of whom 155 had died directly or indirectly as a result of the disease. New cases were down to 4 400 a week compared with 47 000 at the start of February 2006.
(Source: ProMED-mail 30 March 2006)
Chikungunya Fever had affected about 8 000 people in Kadapa, India, but no deaths had been reported. Preventive measures had been taken to prevent the spread of the disease. Chikungunya Fever was prevalent in Yerramukkapalli, Nagarajupet, Chemmumiapet, Akkayapalli, and Ashoknagar.
(Source: ProMED-mail 30 March 2006)
Singapore and Malaysia: Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease
Singapore had recorded 2 180 cases of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease since January this year.
Sarawak of Malaysia had recorded 6 178 cases of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease since February this year. Eight of them died.
(Source: ProMED-mail 30 March 2006)
A possible outbreak of Measles cases had been warned in the Medway towns of Kent in England, United Kingdom with 18 cases being reported, including 3 adults from one prison and 6 children from one primary school. Kent Health Protection Agency blamed the cases on low take-up of combined Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccinations.
So far in 2006, 72 cases of measles have been confirmed in England and Wales, compared with a total of 77 cases in the whole of 2005. Cases had occurred in all regions apart from the North East and the ages of cases have ranged from under one to 35 years of age.
(Source: ProMED-mail 29 March 2006)