Current Travel Health News
Travel Health News Digest (21 May 2007)
There have been 16 reported cases of Dengue Fever in American Samoa this year, an increase by 9 cases since April 2007. The last Dengue Fever epidemic in the country was in 2001, when there were more than 100 cases of dengue fever. From 2003 to 2006, only 3 dengue cases were reported.
Rift Valley Fever has been reported in Burundi for the first time. Around 200 people were affected and one person died in the province of Muyinga. Sources said that the patients had eaten meat from animals which came from Tanzania.
As of 11 May 2007, the Health authority of Canada reported 271 cases of Mumps in 4 provinces including Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Ontario. The vast majority of the infections occurred in Nova Scotia. University-aged young adults made up the majority of the cases.
A Chikungunya Fever outbreak has been identified in Libreville, the capital of Gabon in central Africa, affecting more than 5 500 cases. This was the first outbreak of Chikungunya Fever in the country and the government has announced series of measure to prevent the spread of this disease.
Indonesia: Avian Influenza, human (update)
World Health Organization has confirmed 15 cases of Avian Influenza in Indonesia since January 2007. These included the latest reported 26-year-old woman in North Sumatra. To date, there have been 96 confirmed cases of human infection of Avian Influenza in the country, of whom 76 were fatal.
In Indonesia, an outbreak of Dengue Fever affecting more than 1 163 cases with 8 deaths had been reported in Bali. At least 10 people were treated for the disease every day since the outbreak in January. Most of the cases were reported in densely populated areas where the garbage control was poor.
Between 1 January and 12 May 2007, a total of 18 645 cases of Dengue Fever were reported in Malaysia, compared with 11 821 cases during the same period last year. So far this year, 47 people have died of the disease. The current hot and rainy spell has caused a rise in Dengue cases in almost all states.
Mainland: Avian Influenza, poultry
An outbreak of H5N1 highly pathogenic Avian Influenza was confirmed in Yiyang city, Hunan province of the Mainland, which had killed more than 11 000 ducks. The remaining 53 000 poultries were destroyed.
(Source: Ministry of Agriculture, PRC 21 May 2007)
Mainland: Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease
An outbreak of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease had sickened around 900 people in Shandong province of the Mainland. The outbreak began in late April in the city of Linyi. A 2-year-old girl diagnosed as a probable Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease patient died on 29 April, but no other deaths have been reported.
Russia: Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever
In Russia, 55 cases of Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever have been registered in Rostov. In 2006, there were only 19 cases in Rostov. To date, more than 400 cases of Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever have been recorded in the Southern Federal District.
In Singapore, around 1 500 cases of Dengue Fever have been reported during the first 19 weeks of this year. That was nearly 50 percent higher than the corresponding period in 2006. The Health Ministry said that the spike might be due to a new Dengue strain in Singapore, Dengue 2, which was responsible for 60 percent of all cases so far.
In Sri Lanka, an epidemic of Hepatitis A has broken out in the Gampola area. About 200 cases were admitted to a hospital in Gampola. An official explained that the main reason for the spread of disease in epidemic proportions was contaminated water. People in and around Gampola, Pussellawa, Tundeniya and Tholuwa do not have access to safe drinking water.
USA: Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
The health officials of USA reported 4 recent cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in north-eastern Wyoming.
[Editor’s note: Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is transmitted by the bite of infective ticks. Its incubation period ranges from 3 to 10 days. Patient may present with fever, headache, muscle pain, nausea and skin rash. Travellers should adopt measures similar to anti-mosquito measures to avoid tick bite.]