Current Travel Health News

The Ministry of Health in Indonesia had confirmed the country’s 51st case of H5N1 human Avian Influenza infection.  The fatal case occurred in a 13-year-old boy from South Jakarta.  One week after slaughtering diseased chickens, he developed symptoms on 9 June and died on 14 June.  Of the 51 confirmed cases in Indonesia, 39 had been fatal.

 

(Source: World Health Organization 20 June 2006)

The Ministry of Agriculture in the Mainland announced an Avian Influenza outbreak at poultry farms in Changzhi city, Zhangzi county of Shanxi Province.  The samples taken from dead chicken were tested positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus subtype H5N1.

 

(Source: Ministry of Agriculture PRC, 19 June 2006)

An outbreak of Avian Influenza was reported in the village of Piski in Sumy province, resulting in 335 cases, and all of whom died. It was confirmed to be caused by the highly pathogenic Avian Influenza virus subtype H5N1.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 25 June 2006)

Over the past week, 123 persons in the city of Chennai developed symptoms of Chikungunya fever. In North Chennai, comprising Tondiarpet, Basin Bridge and Pulianthope zones, 57 suspected cases were also reported.

 

In addition, as many as 200 persons in Kadathur Block, including 70 women and 12 children, were suspected to be suffering from Chikungunya fever.  According to Health Department officials, the disease had spread from Puddireddipatti to the nearby villages of Mottankurichi, Sillarahalli, Nathamedu and Linganaickenahalli in Kadathur Block.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 20 June 2006 and 24 June 2006)

As of 19 June 2006, Angola had reported a total of 46 758 cases of Cholera, including 1893 deaths. Fourteen out of 18 provinces were affected; of all cases, 49% occurred in Luanda and 17% in Benguela provinces.

 

(Source: World Health Organization 21 June 2006)

The Federal Ministry of Health of Sudan had reported an outbreak of Cholera infecting a total of 2007 cases, including 77 deaths in northern Sudan, between 21 April and 18 June,

 

(Source: World Health Organization 21 June 2006)

The state radio reported that 16 persons died of Cholera in the Kissidougou prefecture of Guinea and local clinics had registered a further 173 cases of the disease.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 23 June 2006)

Fourteen cases of Cholera had been reported in the government forces garrisoned in Goma, the capital city of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 23 June 2006)

The Ghana Health Service alerted the general public of increased number of Cholera cases reported in the Greater Accra Region.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 23 June 2006)

As of 8 Jun 2006, 50 cases of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever had been registered in the Southern Federal District of Russia, including 4 fatal cases. Among these cases, 8 were registered in the Stavropol region, 21 in the Republic of Kalmykia, 14 in the Rostov region, 3 in the Astrakhan region and 4 in the Volgograd region.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 25 June 2006)

The Hong Kong Department of Health confirmed an imported case of Dengue fever.  The patient arrived in Hong Kong on May 30 from Indonesia.  She developed symptoms of fever and headache, and have recovered.  A total of 14 cases have been reported in this year and all of them were imported cases.

 

(Source: Department of Health Hong Kong SAR 19 June 2006)

Ho Chi Minh City's Preventive Medicine Centre reported nearly 2700 cases of Dengue fever in the city since the beginning of 2006, twice the number reported during the same period last year.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 24 June 2006)

Public Health authorities of El Salvador confirmed 137 cases of Dengue fever between 11 to 17 June. 114 cases were reported in the week before.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 24 June 2006)

In the capital of Kyrgyzstan, 79 cases of Malaria were registered; 60 from Bishkek and 19 from the Chuysk region.

 

[Editor's note: Kyrgyzstan registered 125 malaria cases in 2005, of whom most were inhabitants of Ak-Bata and Kalis Ordo villages of Bishkek. The epicenter for the spread of malaria is the Ala-Archinsk reservoir in the Chuysk region.]

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 24 June 2006)

An outbreak of Malaria occurred in Exuma Island of Bahamas. A total of 16 cases were reported. An additional malaria case had been reported respectively by the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control of US and the Public Health Agency of Canada in returning travellers who visited Exuma in May 2006.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 20 Jun 2006)

An outbreak of Paralytic shellfish poisoning involving 165 victims was reported in a resort city in Nha Trang, Vietnam.  Twenty of them were in critical condition.  The victims coming from a tour group had seafood in a restaurant in the city.  Two food samples collected from the restaurant were found to be positive for the toxin.  Two similar outbreaks involving 68 tourists occurred in the city before and many of whom had seafood at the same restaurant.

 

[Editor's note:  Shellfish poisoning results from ingestion of toxic shellfish. Bivalve shellfish such as clams, mussels, oysters, fan shells, scallops, etc. that are contaminated with toxin-producing algae are the common causes. Paralytic shellfish poisoning can be life-threatening. Symptoms are mainly neurological and their onset is rapid. Symptoms include tingling, numbness, burning sensation around the mouth, unsteadiness, fever and rash. These may last for a few days followed by spontaneous recovery. However, some severe cases may stop breathing within 24 hours of consumption of the toxic shellfish.]

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 21 and 22 June 2006)

In Namibia, 15 persons died in an outbreak of Poliomyelitis.  It was the country’s first outbreak since 1996.  The number of cases had risen to 96, affecting mostly adults. 

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 21 June 2006)

In Brazil, 7 people in the southern region of the state of Maranhao died of a neurological syndrome whose cause had not been identified, another 24 people were hospitalised in the municipal hospital of Imperatriz.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 22 June 2006)