Travel Health Service Year 2007

A total of 117 people died of Malaria out of 4992 registered cases between January and March 2007 at the N'dalatando hospital in the province of Cuanza-Norte, Angola. This was an increase of more than 2928 cases relative to those during the same period in 2006.

About 25 000 cases of Chikungunya Fever were reported in Kerala of India. Thousands more cases were also reported in districts such as Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram.

The Ministry of Health of Indonesia reported a fatal case of human infection of H5N1 Avian Influenza. The victim was a 45-year-old man from Central Java province. He developed symptoms on 17 May and died on 28 May. Initial investigation indicated he had exposure to dead poultry. To date, there have been 98 confirmed cases of human infection of Avian Influenza in the country, of whom 78 were fatal.

Media on 1 June 2007 also reported another death of an Indonesian teenager due to H5N1 Avian Influenza in Central Java.

About 100 people in Bandarlampung of Indonesia have been affected by Chikungunya Fever since April this year. The outbreak centred in the village of Langkapura in Kemiling district.

The Ministry of Health of Mainland has confirmed that the new case of human infection with the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus was a 19-year-old male soldier who served in Fujian. He died on 3 June 2007. He had no history of contacting sick birds. All close contacts remained well. So far, there were 25 laboratory confirmed cases in the Mainland, 16 have been fatal.

More than 30 cases of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease have been confirmed in pre-schools across Male, the capital of Maldives, in the past 2 weeks.

Stavropol region of Russia had registered 10 confirmed cases of Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever. Cases of the disease were distributed in 8 towns - 2 cases each in Budyonovsk and Neftekumsk, and one case each in Apanasenkovskoe, Blagodarnenskoe, Izobilnenskoe, Ipatovskoe, Krasnogvardeyskoe, and Novoselitskoe.

A total of 700 cases of Opisthorchiasis were registered in the territory of the Altay region of Russia for the first 3 months of 2007, including 61 cases among children. Control of Opisthorchiasis in the Altay region has been unsuccessful for several years. Up to 1800 of newly diagnosed cases of Opisthorchiasis are registered annually in the region.

[Editor’s Note: Opisthorchiasis is a parasitic disease that affects the biliary passages and liver. Human infection occurs through eating raw or undercooked freshwater fish that contain the developing worms. Most infections are asymptomatic. In mild cases, some patients may present with gastrointestinal discomfort, and in rare cases cancer of the bile ducts may develop. Therefore, travellers should avoid eating fresh or undercooked seafood and pay attention to Food and personal hygiene.]

On 25 May, the United Kingdom announced that Avian Influenza H7N2 virus infection had been laboratory confirmed in four individuals exposed to infected poultry in a farm in Conwy of Wales. Authority was tracing and following up all close contacts of the individuals who have been ill.

[Editor’s Note: H7N2 is a low pathogenic strain of Avian Flu. Almost all human cases of Avian Influenza (H7N2) to date were mild.]

The New Mexico Department of Health of the USA said that a 59-year-old Taos County woman has died of complications caused by Hantavirus Infection. She was the first reported case so far this year in New Mexico. Eight cases with 3 deaths were reported last year.

In USA, 10 people have been bitten by rabid animals in Indian River County of Florida so far this year. Among whom, 3 were golfers bitten by an otter and the others by raccoons and a stray cat. There were 19 confirmed cases of Rabies by wild animals in Mecklenburg County of North Carolina since 1 Jul 2006. In South Carolina, Cabarrus, Iredell, and Union counties have averaged about a dozen cases over the last 4 years.

Vietnam confirmed a new human case of H5N1 Avian Influenza. The patient was a slaughterhouse worker working in Hanoi. He was admitted to the hospital and in stable condition.