The Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed 2 additional cases of human infection with the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus.

The first case was an 11-year-old boy from South Jakarta of Jakarta Province. He developed symptoms on 2 October and died on 14 October. He had exposed to dead chickens in his neighbourhood.

The second case was a 27-year-old female from Central Java Province. She developed symptoms on 8 October and died on 13 October. The source of her exposure was still under investigation.

Of the 72 cases confirmed to date in Indonesia, 55 have been fatal.

In Vietnam, some 4 000 ducks that had contracted an unknown disease were culled on 19 October in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong. Earlier, some 800 ducks of the same flock had died, of which over 300 died in just one day. The owner of the flock admitted buying the newly-born ducks from a dubious source in Ho Chi Minh City. The ducks had also been raised without being vaccinated.

In Uganda, a total of 24 people have been affected in a suspected outbreak of Plague in Arua district, among whom 6 people have died. A local doctor pointed out that the deaths occurred in Logiri sub-county near the north-eastern border.

In South Africa, more than 100 patients have been confirmed with extremely drug resistant Tuberculosis. Most of the cases came from KwaZulu-Natal (78 cases), while the other from Gauteng, North West, Eastern Cap, and Limpopo. Extremely drug resistant Tuberculosis was first reported in KwaZulu-Natal in 2006. Among the 78 patients reported in the province, 74 have died.

Since April 2006, Huila province of Angola has recorded a total of 1 120 cases of Cholera that killed more than 100 persons.

In Sierra Leone, an outbreak of Cholera in the captial Freetown and surround areas had sicken more than 1 400 people since August 2006. Most cases have been reported in the outlying communities at Kissy Grassfield, Wellington and Calabar Town. Of all cases reported, 47 have died.

In Zambia, Cholera has broken out at fishing camp in the Lukanga swamps in Central Province. A total of 4 cases have been reported.

In Burundi, a total of 90 cases of Cholera have been reported in the capital Bujumbura and the surrounding Bujumbura Rural Province.

In Uganda, 4 people in the areas of Kibona and Byakabanda sub-county have died of Cholera.

In Tanzania, 60 patients in Dar es Dalaam were hospitalised for Cholera. Less than 15% of Dar es Salaam population have access to pipe-borne water and the rest depend on water vended in unhygienic conditions.

More than 40 persons have been affected in an outbreak of Cholera in Myagdi district in western Nepal. Four persons died.

In India, 12 patients have been hospitalised in Mombai for symptoms of Cholera. Most of the cases have been reported from the Don Taki area the city.

In Nepal, the Department of Health Services, Epidemiology and Disease Control Division has refuted any mystery disease behind the recent deaths that took place at Belapur Village Development Committee of Dadeldhuda District. An investigation team reported that among 278 sick persons in Belapur, 40% were suffering from stomach ailments, 40% with respiratory disease and 20% with cough and cold. Regarding the deaths, the investigation team found that 5 persons who died in the area after 22 Sep 2006 were due to hepatitis, asthma, paralysis, epilepsy and kidney problems.

An outbreak of Hepatitis E virus infection have been reported in Equateur Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which had killed 13 people and 341 people were infected since July 2006. At least 724 000 people in Bwamanda, Tandaba ,Bogose and Nubea health zones around the town of Gemena in Equateur were threatened by the disease.

[Editor’s note: Hepatitis E is one form of hepatitis caused by the hepatitis E virus. It has similar clinical course to Hepatitis A. The incubation period ranges from 15 to 64 days. Human is the natural host of the virus. Hepatitis E is primarily transmitted by faecal-oral route and could be transmitted by contaminated drinking water.]

In Zimbabwe, one person has died of suspected Anthrax while 82 others have received treatment following an outbreak of the disease in the province of Mashonaland West.

A case of Poliomylitis imported from Somalia has been reported from a Somali refugee camp in the district of Garissa in northeastern Kenya. The case was a 3-year old girl who had onset of paralysis on 17 September. Emergency vaccinations were scheduled.

The Ministry of Health in Cote d'Ivoire reported 2 cases of Yellow Fever in the towns of Korhogo and Ouaragahio. The cases were a 30-year-old man in Korhogo and a 16 year-old girl in Ouaragahio. To date, no fatalities have been reported. Surveillance activities have been intensified and a vaccination campaign was planned for the affected areas.

A total of 151 districts in 8 states of India were affected by Chikungunya Fever. The affected states were Andhra Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Delhi. More than 1.25 million suspected cases have been reported from the country, of which more than 750 000 were from Karnataka and around 260 000 from Maharashtra provinces. In some areas, reported attack rates have reached 45%.

More than 7 050 cases of Denge Fever have been reported in India, among whom 119 cases have died. The capital Delhi was heavily affected with more than 2 050 cases reported. Among other states, Kerala reported 834 cases, followed by Rajasthan (838), Gujarat (456), West Bengal (600), Uttar Pradesh (510), Tamil Nadu (307), Punjab (413), Maharashtra (582), Haryana (232), Karnataka (92) and Andhra Pradesh (60).

The Hong Kong Department of Health reported an imported case of Denge Fever. He was a 32-year-old man living on Lamma Island who developed symptoms of fever, headache, muscle pain on 10 October. The patient had travelled to Indonesia recently. His home contacts have no symptoms of the disease.

Of the 26 Dengue Fever cases reported so far this year, all were imported cases.