Current Travel Health News
Travel Health News Digest (10 December 2006)
More than 2 500 people in Angola have died of Cholera since an epidemic broke out in February. New cases still being reported in 5 southern and northern provinces. The epidemic has spread to 16 of the 18 provinces across the country. Government officials have reported a total of 62 300 cases. Around 35% of all cases were children under 5.
A total of 13 cases of Malaria have been confirmed in Jamaica since the start of the outbreak in late October. Eleven of the cases occurred in 3 neighborhoods within the capital city of Kingston while the other 2 cases were in Sydenham of St. Catherine. All 13 confirmed infections were caused by Plasmodium falciparum.
[Editor’s note: Jamaica was considered historically free of malaria. As of 4 December, the USA’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended prophylactic antimalarial medication for travellers who may stay overnight in Kingston of Jamaica. This recommendation was expected to be temporary.]
Gastroenteritis has reached a record high level in Japan, according to the Japanese National Institute of Infectious Diseases. More than 3 000 paediatric clinics in Japan reported an average of 19.8 outbreaks of Norovirus infection from 20 to 26 November. Outbreaks spread rapidly from western Japan eastward through Chubu to the Kanto regions.
(Source: ProMED-mail 9 December 2006)
The public health officer in Mombasa of Kenya has reported 28 cases of Cholera in 3 densely populated areas following the floods, that were said to have affected over 60 000 people in the coastal provinces.
(Source: ProMED-mail 8 December 2006)
In the Philippines, an outbreak of Amoebiasis has been reported in remote tribal villages in Binicalan, San Luis town of Agusan del Sur. The outbreak has killed 24 persons and affected some 300 residents since November.
An outbreak of E. Coli O157 infection continued to affect the 3 northeastern (New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania) states of the USA, with 43 confirmed cases and 56 probable cases identified over the past 3 weeks. Two children in New Jersey developed haemolytic uraemic syndrome, which could permanently damage the kidneys.
The possible cause of this outbreak was related to contaminated green onions provided by franchise restaurants. Intense investigations were still ongoing to exclude other possible causes.
A Schistosomiasis outbreak has hit Hurungwe district of Zimbabwe. The disease has affected mostly schoolchildren who played in rivers and ponds at Nyama resettlement scheme in Hurungwe.