Current Travel Health News

The Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed a new case of human infection with H5N1 Avian Influenza virus.  The case was a 14-year-old female from Makassar of South Sulawesi Province.  She developed symptoms on 18 June and died on 24 June.  She had contact with poultry near her home.

 

[Editor’s note:  WHO has retrospectively confirmed another 2 human cases in Indonesia following the recent revision of case definition for H5N1 infection.  The first case was a 8-year-old girl from Tangerang of Banten Province.  She developed symptoms on 24 June 2005 and died on 14 July 2005.  The second case was 45-year-old male from Magelang of Central Java Province.  He developed symptoms on 25 November 2005 and subsequently recovered. The retrospectively confirmed cases bring the total in Indonesia to 63.  Of these cases, 48 have been fatal.]

 

(Source: World Health Organization 8 September 2006)

A new outbreak of Avian Influenza has been confirmed in eastern Cambodia. Tests confirmed that H5N1 virus was present in both live and dead ducks in the Bateay district of Kampong Cham where around 700 birds died last week.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 5 September 2006)

New cases of Avian Influenza in domestic fowl have been reported in Egypt.  Birds tested positive for the H5N1 strain virus were found in the southern province of Sohag and the Mediterranean coastal province of Damietta.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 8 September 2006)

The Hong Kong Department of Health confirmed an imported case of Dengue Fever. The 50-year-old woman developed fever and headache since August 18. She was hospitalised and in stable condition. She had travelled to the Philippines prior to onset of symptoms.

 

(Source: Department of Health Hong Kong SAR 4 September 2006)

In Taiwan, 188 cases of Japanese Encephalitis have been reported this year, of which 20 were confirmed.  Among the confirmed cases, 19 were classified as domestic.  The cumulative number of Japanese Encephalitis has decreased by 39% compared with that in the same period in 2005.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 9 September 2006)

In Angola, more than 53 000 cases of Cholera and around 2 200 deaths have been reported in 15 out of 18 provinces since the beginning of the outbreak in February. In the southern Huila province, the outbreak has already killed 74 out of 944 cases. Currently, the mostly affected area was Namibe, followed by Kuando Kubango, Uige, Benguela, Launda, Kwanza Norte and Kwanza Sul

 

In Cote d’Ivoire, more than 320 cases of Cholera have been reported in the western part of the country. Since July, 40 cases have been reported in Abidjan in southern Cote d’Ivoire.

 

In Ethiopia, an outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea, which has affected more than 16 500 people and caused 200 fatality, has reached the capital Addis Ababa. The outbreak may have been linked to Sudan’s Cholera epidemic.

 

In Nigeria, a suspected outbreak of Cholera has been affecting more than 1500 people in Borno state.

At least 80 people died of the disease.

 

In Sudan, the outbreak of Cholera continued to affect the country. Up to now, the number of reported cases was about 25 000, with more than 700 deaths. Western Darfur was seriously affected.

 

In Uganda, 59 cases of Cholera have been reported in Yumbe district since 2 weeks ago, of whom 7 people died.

 

In Zambia, the Cholera outbreak has affected more than 7 600 people since August 2005, of whom around 6000 cases were recorded in Lusaka District. Other affected areas included Central Province (443 cases), Copper Belt Province (233 cases), Eastern Province (221 cases), Luapula Province (31 cases), North Western Province (2 cases) and Southern Province (314 cases).

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 4 and 7 September 2006)

In Thailand, more than 1 000 cases of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease have been detected between January and July.  Most of the cases aged between 2 to 5 years and 4 children died so far.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 7 September 2006)

Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City has registered over 800 cases of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease this year. The case number has doubled in August over July.  Around 30% of patients had suffered from complications in the brain and nervous system.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 10 September 2006)

Seven people in a group of 17 Italian scouts presented with symptom of meningitis, including fever, headache and neck stiffness, after returning home from a trip to India.  They aged from 17 to 31 years.  They had hiking in Calcutta, Nadia and Murshidabad of West Bengal Province.  Enterovirus was detected in cerebrospinal fluid in 5 out of the 7 patients.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 9 September 2006)

According to local officials in the Mainland, 354 people, including 146 children, from 2 villages in Gansu Province have been confirmed to be suffering from Lead Poisoning. The hospitalised children were not in serious condition. This Lead Poisoning outbreak was suspected to be due to discharge from a nearby lead smelting plant which released water and air pollution. The smelter was shut down and an investigation was under way.

 

 

[Editor's note: Too much lead can damage various systems of the body including the nervous and reproductive systems and the kidneys, and it can cause high blood pressure and anaemia. Lead is especially harmful to the developing brains of fetuses and young children and to pregnant women. At very high levels, lead can cause convulsions, coma and death. People are exposed to lead through the air they breathe, through water and through food ingestion. Toxic effects are usually due to long-term exposure.]

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 7 September 2006)