Travel Health Service Year 2017

Current Travel Health News

Travel Health News

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

859

World Health Organization, 7 November 2017

Brazil

219,040

World Health Organization, 27 October 2017

Cambodia

2,884

World Health Organization, 7 November 2017

India

121,376

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 5 November 2017

Guangdong

642

Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, 13 October 2017

Japan

220#

National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 7 November 2017

Lao PDR

10,302

World Health Organization, 7 November 2017

Macau

6"

Health Bureau of Macau, 27 October 2017

Malaysia

74,348

World Health Organization, 7 November 2017

Mexico

58,697

World Health Organization, 27 October 2017

Philippines

97,287

World Health Organization, 7 November 2017

Singapore

2,457

Singapore National Environment Agency, 9 November 2017

Sri Lanka

167,365

Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 9 November 2017

Taiwan

10”

CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 9 November 2017

Thailand

44,927

Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 8 November 2017

Vietnam

160,567

World Health Organization, 7 November 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.


Oman: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health is closely monitoring one additional case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) reported to the World Health Organization by Oman, and again urged the public to pay special attention to safety during travel, taking due consideration of the health risks in the places they visit.

The male patient aged 27 had contact with dromedaries before onset.

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 13 November 2017)

 

Austria: Measles [Update]

As of 25 October 2017, 85 cases of measles were reported in Austria. This exceeds the number of measles cases in 2016.

(Source: ProMED-mail 13 November 2017)

 

Germany: Measles [Update]

As of 15 October 2017, 898 cases of measles were reported in Germany. During the same time period in 2016, Germany reported 273 cases.

(Source: ProMED-mail 13 November 2017)

 

Italy: Measles [Update]

As of 31 October 2017, 4,775 cases of measles were reported in Italy. Among the cases, 312 were healthcare workers.

(Source: ProMED-mail 13 November 2017)

 

Romania: Measles [Update]

As of 3 November, 9,728 cases of measles have been reported in Romania. 35 people died.

(Source: ProMED-mail 13 November 2017)

 

Spain: Measles

As of 27 October 2017, 159 cases of measles have been reported in Spain. In 2016, Spain reported 38 cases during the year.

(Source: ProMED-mail 13 November 2017)

 

Venezuela: Measles

Between the last week of August till 1 October 2017, 570 cases of measles were reported in Bolivar State of Venezuela.

(Source: ProMED-mail 13 November 2017)

 

Ghana: Pneumococcal meningitis

So far since last year, pneumococcal meningitis has taken 93 lives in Ghana.

(Source: ProMED-mail 12 November 2017)

 

India: Leptospirosis

So far this year, 20 cases of leptospirosis were reported in Pune City of India.

(Source: ProMED-mail 12 November 2017)

 

Italy: Chikungunya fever [Update]

As of 27 October 2017, Italy reported 331 cases of chikungunya fever in Lazio region and 63 cases in Calabria region.

(Source: ProMED-mail 10 November 2017)

 

Madagascar: Plague [Update]

Between 1 August and 8 November 2017, a total of 2,034 plague cases including 165 deaths have been reported in Madagascar. Of these, 1,565 cases were clinically classified as pneumonic plague. 82 healthcare workers have been affected since the beginning of the outbreak.

(Source: World Health Organization 9 November 2017)

 

Brazil: Yellow Fever [Update]

The 2nd human case of yellow fever has been reported in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

(Source: ProMED-mail 9 November 2017)

 

India: Malaria [Update]

552 cases of malaria have been recorded in Delhi, India.

(Source: ProMED-mail 8 November 2017)

 

Democratic Republic of Congo: Cholera [Update]

40,100 suspected cases of cholera, including 771 deaths, were reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

(Source: ProMED-mail 8 November 2017)

 

Yemen: Cholera [Update]

In Yemen, a cumulative total of 910,996 suspected cases of cholera including 2,195 associated deaths were reported for the outbreak which started in October 2016.

(Source: ProMED-mail 8 November 2017)

 

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health is closely monitoring 12 additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) including two deaths reported to the World Health Organization by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and again urged the public to pay special attention to safety during travel, taking due consideration of the health risks in the places they visit.

Among the 11 male patients and one female patient aged 25 to 77, 11 had underlying illnesses, and nine had either contact with camels or camel milk consumption. In addition, one previously confirmed patient died.

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 8 November 2017)

 

Uganda: Marburg Haemorrhagic Fever [Update]

Uganda notified the World Health Organization of an outbreak of Marburg haemorrhagic fever in Kween District.

(Source: World Health Organization 7 November 2017)

 

Nigeria: Monkeypox [Update]

116 suspected cases of monkeypox were reported from 20 states/territories of Nigeria.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 7 November 2017)