Current 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 01/01/2019 *
|
Cumulative reported no. |
Source of information and date of report |
Australia |
701 |
World Health Organization, 4 July 2019 |
Brazil |
1,127,244 |
World Health Organization, 11 July 2019 |
Guangdong, China |
394 |
Health Commission of Guangdong Province, 12 July 2019 |
India |
5,504 |
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 26 May 2019 |
Japan |
149^ |
National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 9 July 2019 |
Lao PDR |
8,042 |
World Health Organization, 4 July 2019 |
Malaysia |
62,421 |
World Health Organization, 4 July 2019 |
Mexico |
27,259 |
World Health Organization, 11 July 2019 |
The Philippines |
92,267 |
World Health Organization, 4 July 2019 |
Singapore |
7,168@ |
Singapore National Environment Agency, 11 July 2019 |
Sri Lanka |
27,245 |
Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 11 July 2019 |
Taiwan, China |
251 |
CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 11 July 2019 |
Thailand |
44,671 |
Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 10 July 2019 |
Vietnam |
81,132 |
World Health Organization, 4 July 2019 |
* Dengue reporting systems vary by country/area.
@Cumulative cases since 30 December 2018.
^ Cumulative cases since 31 December 2018.
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.
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A. Dengue fever
From July 5 to 11, the CHP recorded four imported DF cases. The patients had been to Bangladesh (one case), Malaysia (one case), the Philippines (one case) and Singapore (one case) during the incubation period.
As of July 11, 77 cases had been recorded this year, all of which were imported. The cases were mainly imported from Malaysia (15), Thailand (15) and Indonesia (12).
The CHP has been closely monitoring the latest DF situation in neighbouring and overseas areas. DF is endemic in many tropical and subtropical areas of the world. In Guangdong, there were 394 cases (including 26 local cases) in the first six months of this year. In Taiwan, 251 cases (including 46 local cases) have been recorded in 2019 (as of July 11).
Detailed information on the latest DF situation in Hong Kong as well as neighbouring and overseas countries and areas this year has been uploaded to the CHP's website (https://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/df_imported_cases_and_overseas_figures_eng.pdf).
B. Chikungunya fever
From July 5 to 11, the CHP recorded a cluster of three confirmed CF cases. All the three patients travelled to Thailand together during the incubation period. No other CF cases were detected in Hong Kong in 2019.
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