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	545	World Health Organization, 6 June 2017
Brazil	144,326	World Health Organization, 9 June 2017
Cambodia	385	World Health Organization, 6 June 2017
India	11,402	Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 31 May 2017
Guangdong	42	Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, 14 June 2017
Japan	78^#	National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 20 June 2017
Lao PDR	1,559	World Health Organization, 6 June 2017
Malaysia	41,574	World Health Organization, 6 June 2017
Mexico	8,222	World Health Organization, 20 April 2017
Philippines	33,760	World Health Organization, 6 June 2017
Singapore	1,334	Singapore National Environment Agency, 22 June 2017
Sri Lanka	69,043	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 22 June 2017
Taiwan	0”	CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 15 June 2017
Thailand	15,260	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 20 June 2017
Vietnam	29,701	World Health Organization, 6 June 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.

Nigeria: Lassa fever [Update]

So far this year, 298 suspected cases of Lassa fever with 49 deaths were reported in Nigeria.

(Source: ProMED-mail 26 June 2017)

Kenya: Cholera

Nearly 26 cholera cases have been reported in Nairobi, Kenya. The patients were served lunch at a health conference.

(Source: ProMED-mail 26 June 2017)

Yemen: Cholera [Update]

Almost 200,000 suspected cholera cases were reported in Yemen.

(Source: ProMED-mail 24 June 2017)

Taiwan: Japanese Encephalitis [Update]

So far this year, 5 cases of Japanese encephalitis have been confirmed in Taiwan, including the most recent case in New Taipei City.

(Source: Taiwan Centers for Disease Control 23 June 2017)

South Africa: Avian Influenza, poultry

Cases of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza were reported in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

(Source: ProMED-mail 23 June 2017)

Pakistan: Chikungunya fever [Update]

At least 66 new cases of Chikungunya fever were reported in Karachi, Pakistan in the past week.

(Source: ProMED-mail 23 June 2017)

Mainland: Avian influenza, human [Update]

The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health is monitoring a notification from the National Health and Family Planning Commission that 10 additional human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9), including two deaths, were recorded from June 16 to 22, and strongly urged the public to maintain strict personal, food and environmental hygiene both locally and during travel.

The 10 male patients, aged from 31 to 79, had onset from June 5 to 19. Two each are from Beijing and Sichuan, and one each from Anhui, Guizhou, Hebei, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jiangsu and Tianjian. Among them, nine were known to have exposure to poultry or poultry markets.

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 23 June 2017)

Syrian Arab Republic: Poliomyelitis [Update]

15 new cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2s (cVDVP2s) were reported in Syria in the past week.

(Source: ProMED-mail 22 June 2017)

Bolivia: Yellow Fever

A fatal case of yellow fever was reported in Bolivia. The 18-year-old victim was not vaccinated against yellow fever.

(Source: ProMED-mail 20 June 2017)

Nigeria: Lassa fever

A fatal case of Lassa fever was reported in Nigeria. The victim was a nursing student.

(Source: ProMED-mail 20 June 2017)

Yemen: Cholera [Update]

166,976 suspected cholera cases and 1,146 deaths were reported in Yemen.

(Source: ProMED-mail 20 June 2017)

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health is closely monitoring 14 additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) reported to the World Health Organization by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between June 11 and 15, 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 nine male and five female patients aged from 29 to 79, seven are health care workers and eight had underlying illnesses. Investigations revealed that 13 (including all seven healthcare workers) had contact with confirmed MERS cases, and they were involved in two nosocomial clusters.

In addition, one previously confirmed patient has died.

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 20 June 2017)