Current Travel Health News
Travel Health News Digest (23 April 2006)
Mainland: Avian Influenza, human
The Ministry of Health in the Mainland had confirmed country’s 12th death from H5N1 Avian Influenza. The death occurred in a 21-year-old man from Hubei province. He died on 19 April. Of the 17 laboratory-confirmed cases in China, 12 had been fatal.
(Source: World Health Organization 21 April 2006)
Mainland: Avian Influenza, bird
In Liaoning province, Mainland, 2 dead wild birds had been confirmed to have been infected with H5N1 Avian Influenza virus. Nearly 14 million birds had been vaccinated with H5N2 vaccine.
(Source: ProMED-mail 20 April 2006)
Pakistan: Avian Influenza, poultry
Pakistan authorities had culled 40 000 poultry in 13 farms at Tarlai and Alipur Farash, the outskirts of the capital Islamabad after the outbreaks of the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus.
(Source: ProMED-mail 23 April 2006)
The World Health Organization confirmed the 4th human death cases of Avian Influenza in Egypt. The patient developed symptoms on 5 April and died on 14 April. Of the 12 Avian Influenza cases, 4 were fatal.
(Source: World Health Organization 21 April 2006)
Sudan: Avian Influenza, poultry
Sudan had announced its 1st outbreak of H5N1 Avian Influenza virus at poultry farms in Khartoum and Jazeera provinces.
(Source: ProMED-mail 19 April 2006)
Indonesia and Thailand: Hong Kong Traveller Contracted Dengue Fever
The Department of Health confirmed two imported cases of Dengue Fever. A total of 9 imported cases had been notified this year.
One case was a 25-year-old man who travelled to Thailand from 24 to 27 March, and developed symptoms on 29 March. His travel companion was confirmed to have Dengue Fever as well.
The other case was a 25-year-old female who was in Indonesia since late January prior to onset of symptoms on 7 April.
(Source: Department of Health, Hong Kong SAR 12 and 18 April 2006)
In Venezuela, the cumulated case toll of Dengue Fever for the year was 11 099. Of all Dengue cases, 5.8% of them were Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever.
According to the health authority of Paraguay, there had been 365 cases of Dengue fever reported nationwide, with nearly 900 suspected cases.
According to the Ministry of Health of Brazil, there had been 12 854 cases notified as compared with 7554 cases in the same period last year.
(Source: ProMED-mail 22 April 2006)
The outbreak of Chikungunya Fever continued to affect Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra of India, with more than 78 000 cases reported so far. In Karnataka, the disease had now spread from the districts of North Karnataka to Bangalore, Tumkur and Kolar districts.
(Source: ProMED-mail 23 April 2006)
In Assam of India, Malaria situation was worsening, affecting 3 288 people including 49 deaths: 24 people in Lakhimpur, 14 in Golaghat, 5 in Jorhat, 3 in Marigaon, 2 in Sonitpur and one in Nalbari.
(Source: ProMED-mail 20 April 2006)
Angola was suffering its worst outbreak of Cholera in more than a decade, recording 554 deaths and 12 052 cases in just over 2 months.
A month-long outbreak of Cholera had killed 21 people and stricken 253 in mainland Tanzania and the semiautonomous Zanzibar archipelago.
In the Greater Accra region of Ghana, 93 cases of Cholera alone in April was recorded, compared to none in 2005 over the same period.
Since the first outbreaks of Cholera were reported on 17 October 2005, the Ministry of Health of Malawi had recorded a total of 4 359 cases of Cholera outbreaks and 53 deaths in 19 districts.
A Cholera outbreak had killed over 340 people in southern Sudan. It began in Juba and Yei and spread to Eastern Equatoria in Torit, Ikotos and Lopit.
(Source: ProMED-mail 21 April 2006)
At least 15 people had been hospitalised in Tajikistan with Leptospirosis. All of the cases so far had occurred in a district that lies about 50 km east of the capital, Dushanbe. It was suspected that the infections might be the result of recent work on the public water system.
(Source: ProMED-mail 23 April 2006)
More than 1 100 cases of Mumps had been reported in 8 states in the United States. The affected states were Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Missouri and Oklahoma. The outbreak was the largest mumps epidemic in the United States in more than 20 years.
(Source: ProMED-mail 21 April 2006)