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
India	157,220	Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 24 December 2017

Remarks:
* Dengue reporting systems vary by country/area.

Cumulative reported number of dengue cases since 01/01/2018 *

	Cumulative reported no. of cases since 01/01/2018	Source of information and date of report
Australia	117	World Health Organization, 27 February 2018
Brazil	32,161	World Health Organization, 8 March 2018
Cambodia	132	World Health Organization, 27 February 2018
Guangdong	3	Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, 15 February 2018
Japan	13	National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 6 March 2018
Lao PDR	18	World Health Organization, 27 February 2018
Macau	0	Health Bureau of Macau, 8 March 2018
Malaysia	1,200	World Health Organization, 27 February 2018
Mexico	2.773	World Health Organization, 8 March 2018
Philippines	10,980	World Health Organization, 27 February 2018
Singapore	491^@	Singapore National Environment Agency, 8 March 2018
Sri Lanka	11,763	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 6 March 2018
Taiwan	0”	CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 8 March 2018
Thailand	3,651	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 6 March 2018
Vietnam	8,667	World Health Organization, 27 February 2018

* Dengue reporting systems vary by country/area.
@ Cumulative cases since 31 December 2017.
“ Locally-acquired

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.

South Sudan: Rift Valley Fever [Update]

Health Authorities of South Sudan declared an outbreak of Rift Valley fever affecting three counties in Eastern Lakes state. There were 40 suspected cases of Rift Valley fever reported as of March 9.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 12 March 2018)

Mexico: Avian Influenza, poultry

Agriculture officials of Mexico reported a highly pathogenic avian influenza H7N3 outbreak in backyard birds.

(Source: ProMED-mail 12 March 2018)

Thailand: Rabies [Update]

Thailand has reported 359 confirmed cases of rabies infection in animals so far in 2018. To date, three human rabies deaths have been recorded this year.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 10 March 2018)

Liberia: Lassa Fever [Update]

Health officials of Liberia recently reported 3 confirmed Lassa fever cases, and all 3 cases have died. Since 1 January 2018, 28 suspected cases of Lassa fever have been reported across Liberia, including 12 deaths.

(Source: ProMED-mail 10 March 2018)

Italy: Avian Influenza, poultry

Italy reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza in a commercial layer farm.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 9 March 2018)

Japan: Avian Influenza, wild birds

Japan reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N6 avian influenza in wild birds.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 9 March 2018)

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Poliomyelitis [Update]

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported one new case of vaccine-derived type 2 poliovirus (cVDPV2), who experienced symptom onset on December 22 2017. DRC had 22 cases of cVDPV2 in 2017, and no cases reported in 2018 so far.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 9 March 2018)

Malawi: Cholera

The number of death of the cholera outbreak in Malawi increased to 20 from 17 within 2 days. Health officials reported 722 people are receiving medical treatment for cholera.

(Source: ProMED-mail 8 March 2018)

Brazil: Yellow Fever [Update]

Brazil has reported 846 confirmed cases of yellow fever including 260 deaths from 1 July 2017. There were 123 new cases including 23 deaths last week.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 8 March 2018)

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

Saudi Arabia reported another new case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Riyadh. Totally there were 1,814 cases of MERS-CoV and 736 deaths that have been reported since 2012.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 8 March 2018)

Australia: Listeriosis

Australia reported a national outbreak of listeriosis which was linked to contaminated rockmelons from a farm. The outbreak has affected 17 people across the country, resulting in 4 deaths.

(Source: ProMED-mail 7 March 2018)

Mainland: Avian Influenza, poultry

China reported 2 outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza. An outbreak of H5N6 avian influenza occurred in a duck farm of Guilin, Guangxi. Another event was a H7N9 outbreak involving backyard poultry in Shaanxi province.

(Source: ProMED-mail 7 March 2018)

Philippines: Measles

Following measles outbreak in Zamboanga and Davao Cities, officials in Negros Oriental declared a measles outbreak on 6 March. The outbreak was declared after cases were reported in a number of areas, including Dumaguete City, Philippines.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 6 March 2018)