Current Travel Health News
Travel Health News Digest (12 September 2004)
Avian Influenza: Asia [update-7]
Thailand confirmed that a young adult living in Prachinburi Province of eastern Thailand had died of avian influenza H5N1 on 8 September. He had been exposed to some sick chickens since mid August.
In Vietnam, the deaths of 5 children from beginning of August are possibly due to infection with the H5 subtype of avian influenza A virus. No new cases of human H5N1 infection have been found since September.
(Source: World Health Organisation 9/9/04, ProMED-mail 11/9/04)
About 6 weeks ago, a young Austrian couple and their dog arrived in Morocco. A few days later, the dog developed strange behaviour and attacked its owner. The dog died shortly afterwards. On 1 September, the young man was admitted to the hospital and was suspected to be suffering from rabies. His condition has worsened.
(Source: ProMED-mail 9/9/04)
In Niger, health officials confirmed in early September a cholera outbreak has killed 32 persons among 1573 reported cases in 3 regions of Niger. The outbreak hit Tillabery, Maradi and Diffa in the western, central and eastern regions, respectively.
In Uganda, 12 cases of cholera including one death were reported in week ending 8 August.
In Chad, more than 120 have died of cholera in western Chad and nearly 3000 cases of the water-borne disease have been reported since an outbreak occurred at the start of the rainy season in mid-June.
In Sierra Leone, 561 cholera cases and 55 deaths had been recorded up to end August.
Meanwhile, Guinea had reported 333 cases of cholera and 31 deaths up to end August.
(Source: ProMED-mail 10/9/04)
About 90 people were infected with typhoid fever, in the city of Pendjikent, 180 km north of capital Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The cause of the outbreak was leakage from the sewage system in the city. Waste products leaked into the Zerafshan river which was used for drinking water and for field irrigation.
(Source: ProMED-mail 9/9/04)
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever: Iran
Up to late August, Iran reported 53 cases of suspected Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever so far this year. Of these, 12 were confirmed including one death.
The province of Sistan Baluchistan had the highest number of infections during this period. This province borders on Afghanistan and Pakistan. The frontier areas are endemic for the disease.
(Source: ProMED-mail 6/9/04)
[Editor Note: Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever is a febile illness with bleeding tendency and is caused by the bite of an infected tick. Travellers to affected areas should adopt anti-insect measures.]
Dengue Fever: Taiwan [Update - 4]
Up to 10 September this year, 623 cases of denger fever were reported to Taiwan health authorities. Of these, 88 were confirmed. They included 25 local cases in Pingdong county, and one local case in Kaohsiung city.
The number of imported cases rose to 61. The latest case contracted the disease in the Philippines.
(Source: Department of Health, Taiwan 11/9/04)
[Editor Note: Travellers visiting southern Taiwan should adopt anti-mosquito measures. Should fever develop within 2 weeks after return, they should seek medical attention immediately, and inform travel history. ]
Malaria, imported: Hong Kong SAR
One imported case of malaria was confirmed by the Department of Health.
An Indian businessman travelled from Dubai to Shanghai and Hangzhou, then Hong Kong. He developed fever and chills two days before arrival in Hong Kong in early September. He was admitted to hospital and confirmed to suffer from benign tertian malaria. He was now in stable condition.
(Source: Department of Health, HKSAR 9/9/04)
West Nile Virus: North American [update-2]
A woman in the northern Mexico state of Sonora became the first Mexican to contract West Nile virus (WNV) in 2004. Sonora state shares its northern border with Arizona, USA, which has reported 316 cases of WNV with 4 deaths as of end August.
As of 3 September, the number of confirmed human cases of WNV infection in Canada was 17. Ontaria and Saskatchewan each account for 7 cases, while Manitoba and Quebec reported 2 and 1 case respectively.
In USA, Oregon state confirmed her first human case of WNV infection on 10 September. So far this year, 37 states have reported 1309 cases of human WNV illness. The most affected are California (30%), Arizona (26%), and Colorado (15%). Of these, 35 cases had died.
(Source: ProMED-mail 5/9/04, CDC, USA 10/9/04)
Yellow Fever: Venezuela [update]
Health officials in Tachira province reported 5 cases of yellow fever in 2004. Another suspected case probably contracted the disease in Apure province, and hospitalized with fever, jaundice and bleeding in September.
Official statistics reported 23 cases, of which 8 were imported from Colombia. Travelers including children older than 1 year to Tachira & Zulia provinces area advised to get vaccination against yellow fever.
(Source: ProMED-mail 4/9/04)
[Editor Note: Tachira, Apure and Zulia provinces are located in western Venezuela, bordering Colombia].