Travel Health Service Year 2017

Current Travel Health News

Take precautions against dengue fever when travelling abroad

Dengue fever is now endemic in more than 100 countries in Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. This includes various popular tourist destinations for Hong Kong people including the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Travellers planning to travel in these areas should take precautions against the disease.

Cumulative reported number of dengue cases since 01/01/2017 *

	Cumulative reported no. of cases since 01/01/2017	Source of information and date of report
Australia	501	World Health Organization, 23 May 2017
Brazil	144,326	World Health Organization, 29 May 2017
Cambodia	302	World Health Organization, 23 May 2017
Guangdong	27	Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, 12 May 2017
India	11,402	Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 31 May 2017
Japan	73^#	National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 6 June 2017
Lao PDR	1,071	World Health Organization, 23 May 2017
Malaysia	35,004	World Health Organization, 23 May 2017
Mexico	8,222	World Health Organization, 20 April 2017
Philippines	26,433	World Health Organization, 23 May 2017
Singapore	1,192	Singapore National Environment Agency, 8 June 2017
Sri Lanka	59,760	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 7 June 2017
Taiwan	0”	CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 8 June 2017
Thailand	12,670	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 6 June 2017
Vietnam	29,701	World Health Organization, 23 May 2017

Remarks:
* Dengue reporting systems vary by country.
“ Locally-acquired
# Cumulative cases since 2 January 2017.

Travellers should stay vigilant against dengue fever and adopt the following personal preventive measures against mosquito bite:

*	Always wear loose, light-coloured long-sleeved tops and trousers;
*	Stay in air-conditioned residence or places with mosquito screens;
*	If mosquito screen or air-conditioning is absent, aerosol insecticide and bed nets are advised;
*	Use insect repellents containing DEET on exposed skin and clothing;
*	Use insect repellents containing DEET apart from applying sunscreen while staying in beaches;
*	Re-apply insect repellents according to instructions during the trip;
*	Carry a portable bed nets and apply permethrin on it as well as to clothes if travelling to rural areas where dengue fever is prevalent.

Travellers returning from areas where dengue fever is prevalent should seek medical advice as soon as possible if they feel unwell and provide travel details to their doctors.

Mainland: Avian Influenza, human [update]

The Centre for Health Protection is monitoring a notification from the National Health and Family Planning Commission that 12 additional human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) were recorded from June 2 to 8, and strongly urged the public to maintain strict personal, food and environmental hygiene both locally and during travel.

The eight male and four female patients, aged from 4 to 68, had onset from May 20 to June 3. Three of them are from Beijing, two each from Anhui, Chongqing and Henan, and one each from Jiangsu, Shaanxi and Shandong. Two cases reported in Beijing were likely infected in Hebei and Shanxi while the case reported in Shaanxi was likely infected in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Among them, nine were known to have exposure to poultry, poultry markets or mobile stalls.

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 9 June 2017)

Iran: Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever

Iranian officials have confirmed that a total of 31 people have been diagnosed with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Iran, of these, 3 people have been dead.

(Source: ProMED-mail 8 June 2017)

Yemen: Cholera [Update]

There were 101 820 suspected cases of cholera in Yemen.

(Source: ProMED-mail 8 June 2017)

Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is closely monitoring 28 additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), including six deaths, reported to the World Health Organization by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar. The CHP again urged the public to pay special attention to safety during travel, taking due consideration of health risks in the places they visit.

In the KSA, 25 cases of MERS were reported between April 21 and May 29. The patients comprised 22 men (including six fatal cases) and three woman aged from 25 to 81, with 14 having underlying illnesses. Among them, six patients had contact with camels and consumed camel milk while ten cases (including four healthcare workers) had contact with confirmed MERS Coronavirus cases.

In UAE, two cases involved two men with underlying illnesses were reported on May 16. Both patients, aged 45 and 69 respectively, had contact with camels. The 45-year-old man remained asymptomatic and was identified during contact tracing of the 69-year-old case.

In Qatar, the case involved a 29-year-old man was reported on May 23. The patient has reported frequent contact with camels.

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 7 June 2017)