In Austria, a total of 87 cases of Mumps had been reported recently. The main affected provinces were Kaernten, Niederoesterreich and Wien.

Numbers of Measles cases in the United Kingdom have risen to their highest level in nearly 20 years. Surrey and Sussex have confirmed 156 cases of Measles and South Yorkshire may have 180 cases. There were just 77 cases across England and Wales in 2005. Health Protection Agency blamed the cases on low take-up of combined Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccinations.

Health officials in Fiji had declared a state of medical emergency following an outbreak of Diarrhoea which had claimed the lives of 4 children.

(Source: ProMED-mail 12 June 2006)

In Hungary, a Gastroenteritis outbreak was reported in the city of Miskolc. The outbreak was affecting about 1200 persons, among which 80 were receiving treatment in a hospital. Contamination of the city water system by flooding as a result of heavy spring rainfall was believed to be the cause of this outbreak.

Ten people (including 3 children) had died and another person had been hospitalized after consuming turtle meat in a wedding party on Siberut Island in Indonesia. Local residents said it was a local Mentawai tradition to consume turtle meat at weddings. A local health official said that the preliminary findings indicated that the fatalities were due to consumption of turtle meat.

The Cholera outbreak in Sudan has spread to the western Darfur region, posing a serious threat to the 2.5 million living in camps. An outbreak that began in late Jan 2006 in south Sudan has killed at least 516 people among more than 13 800 cases. 6 of the 10 southern states were affected.

In India, Health Minister of Tamil Nadu said that about 11 000 people in 17 districts in the State were affected by Chikungunya Fever.

Seventeen cases of Anthrax were reported in the Kedartala area of Hariharpara in Murshidabad district. They developed symptoms following consumption of infected beef. Their symptoms included fever, ulcers on palms and in the corners of mouths. There were many other villagers who are also suspected to be suffering the disease as a result of handling the infected meat. Health department personnel collected blood samples of the suspected anthrax cases for confirmation.

The outbreak of Pertussis in East Sepik province of Papua New Guinea swept through the Sepik plains into Angoram district. Sixteen children have already died. Provincial health task force would immunize every child in the Sepik plains against the disease.

One hundred cases of suspected pneumonic Plague including 19 deaths in Ituri district of Democratic Republic of the Congo have been reported. Suspected cases of bubonic Plague have also been reported but the total number was not known.

[Editor's note: Ituri is known to be the most active focus of human plague worldwide, reporting around 1000 cases a year.]

Avian influenza was found among wild birds near a village in Sumy region of Ukraine. It was not clear whether the virus detected was the H5N1 subtype. Ukraine's authorities said that the outbreak was brought under control. No human case was recorded.

An outbreak of Avian Influenza was reported in a farm in Bcs-Kiskun of Hungary. The agent was confirmed to be highly pathogenic avian influenza virus subtype H5.

The Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed the country's 50th case of H5N1 human Avian Influenza infection. The fatal case occurred in a 7-year-old girl from Tangerang district of Banten Province. She developed symptoms on 26 May and died on 1 June. So far, of the 50 confirmed cases in Indonesia, 38 have been fatal.

The Ministry of Health in Mainland has confirmed the country's 19th case of human infection with the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus. The patient was a 31-year-old man employed as a truck driver in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province. He developed symptoms on 3 June. He remained hospitalised in critical condition. Of the 19 laboratory-confirmed cases in Mainland reported to date, 12 have been fatal.