The Ministry of Health in Iraq had retrospectively confirmed the country’s third case of human infection with the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus. The case was a 3-year-old boy, who was hospitalised in Baghdad on 15 March 2006. His illness was mild and he fully recovered.

The health authority of Indonesia has reported two additional cases of human infection with the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus, pending confirmation by the World Health Organization. The first case was a 9-year-old boy from Ciputat Bay in South Jakarta. He developed symptoms on 13 September and died on 22 September. The other case was an 11-year-old boy from East Java province who died on 18 September.

In the Philippines, more than 14 900 cases of Dengue Fever and 188 related deaths have been reported since this year. Most of the newly reported cases were from Rizal and Metro Manila.

In Cambodia, more than 10 000 children have fallen ill with Dengue Fever since January, among whom more than 100 children died.

In Myanmar, 264 cases of Dengue Fever have been reported in Rangoon during the first half of the year, among which 3 were fatal. High number of cases has been registered in the townships of Insein, Shwepyithar and Mayangon. The authorities attributed the outbreak to the heavy population and poor stream flow in the areas.

In Sri Lanka, around 7 000 Dengue Fever cases and 31 related deaths have been reported in 2006, while only 5 965 patients and 28 related deaths have been reported in 2005. The Western Province was the province with the highest number of Dengue Fever cases and Colombo was the most susceptible district to an outbreak. Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kandy, Ranapura and Kurunegala districts have been identified as the high-risk areas.

In Delhi of India, 136 cases of Dengue Fever and 6 deaths have been reported in 2006, compare with 86 cases and 9 deaths by the same time in 2005.

In Fiji, 10 probable Dengue Fever cases have been reported in the last 2 months pending further confirmation. Five of the patients resided in the capital Suva and the nearby Nausori. The others were in the locations throughout the country.

Some 10 000 cases of Dengue Fever have been reported in the neighborhoods of the capital of Cuba, among which 25 have been fatal. Santiago de Cuba was in a state of emergency where 40 people died of the disease.

The outbreak of Dengue Fever in Dominican Republic has killed 34 people while more than 3 000 were still in clinics and hospitals throughout the country.

The health authority in El Salvador admitted that an outbreak of Dengue Fever was sweeping the country. There have been more than 15 000 suspected cases since January, among which 5 611 cases have been confirmed. The Department of San Salvador, La Libertad and western Sonsonete were the mostly affected area.

An outbreak of Viral Meningitis has been reported in Rezekne and Daugavpils counties of the eastern Latvia. As of 19 September, 232 cases of has been reported. Most of cases were children and teenagers.

[Editor note: Viral Meningitis is the infection of meninges caused by a wide variety of viruses. Symptoms of viral meningitis include fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Majority of the cases of Viral Meningitis recover with no complications.]

In Dar es Salaam of Tanzania, more than 70 people have been infected with Cholera and were admitted to various special camps for treatment.

In Niger, the Cholera outbreak has infected more than 200 people and caused 18 deaths in the last 3 weeks. All deaths occurred in the south of the country.

In Ethiopia, the outbreak of Acute Watery Diarrhoea has infected almost 20 000 people and claimed 182 lives in the country. The disease had spread to all 5 regions of the country, including the capital Addis Ababa.