Current Travel Health News
Travel Health News Digest (16 May 2004)
African trypanosomiasis: Angola
In the first quarter of 2004, about 41 new cases of African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) with 2 deaths have been recorded at Lukala District in northern Kwanza-Norte Province. In the previous quarter, 181 cases were found.
(Source: ProMED-mail 6/5/04)
[Editor Note: African trypanosomiasis is caused by the bite of an infective tsetse fly, Glossina, which carries the protozoa, Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiene or T. b. gambiense. T. b. rhodesiene causes a virulent, rapidly progressive disease and is found in east Africa. T. b. gambiense causes a more chronic disease and is found mainly in west and central Africa. Both forms are fatal without treatment.
Symptoms include a painful sore at the bite site, fever, intense headache, insomnia, painless enlarged lymph nodes, anaemia, local oedema and rash. Later, there is body wasting, somnolence and neurological signs.
Travellers to affected areas should use an insect repellent, cover exposed parts of the body, and avoid wearing the colour blue, which attracts tsetse flies.]
In Barnaul, 2.5% among the 200 cases of tick bites were infected by tick typhus. Tick activity is increasing day by day in Siberia, north of Kazakhstan and Mongolia.
(Source: ProMED-mail 11/5/04)
A pacific cruise vessel was forced to return back to Sydney after Norovirus infected 140 passengers on 9 May. The same disease had affected the ship just 5 months ago and the ship operator blamed the poor hygiene of some passenger as the cause of the outbreak.
(Source: ProMED-mail 11/5/04)
[Editor Note: The virus is spread via contaminated food, contact with infected people, or poor hygiene. It can be prevented by regular hand-washing.]
A new strain of avian flu has been found in the Fraser Valley of British Colombia. Since it is possible that the strain is the H5 subtype, a school near the Abbotsford farm was closed in order to prevent the spread of the disease into the local community.
Some 19 millions chickens and turkeys in the Fraser Valley are being culled after an especially aggressive strain of H7 avian flu began killing off birds in March this year.
(Source: China News Service 12/5/04)
[Editor Note: Travellers going to affected areas should avoid visit to live bird markets and poultry farms. They should avoid contact with live poultry and birds and wash hand thoroughly with soap and water after contact. They should observe good food hygiene and consume only thoroughly cooked poultry products and eggs.]
Dengue fever: Sri Lanka [update - 2]
For the first four months of the year, almost 1,600 cases of dengue fever have been reported from 5 cities in Sri Lanka.
One third of the cases occurred in the capital Colombo, over half in Gamphaha and in Kandy, with the rest in Kurunegala and in Kalmunai.
(Source: ProMED-mail 14/5/04)
Dengue Fever: Vietnam [Update]
Health official in Vietnam reported about 8,800 cases of dengue fever and 14 deaths during the first 4 months in this year, a 47% increase when compared with the same period last year. Over 93% of the cases were reported in the southern Mekong Delta region.
Dengue fever activities had been reported since 1969. Since then, there will be a large outbreak every 4 to 5 years. The last episode occurred in 1998, which claimed 383 lives.
(Source: ProMED-mail 14/5/04)
Dengue fever: Indonesia [update 9]
During the first four months of this year, over 58,000 cases of dengue fever and dengue haemorrhagic fever with 658 deaths have been registered throughout all the 30 provinces in Indonesia.
At the end of April, situation has returned to normal with provinces reporting cases at a low level. However, Jakarta, Bali and Nusa Tenggarah Timur, the most affected areas, are still being monitored.
The outbreak this year appears to be of similar magnitude as 1998, which recorded a historic number of 72,133 cases and 1,414 deaths.
(Source: World Health Organisation 11/5/04)
On 13 May, 4 cases of yellow fever had been confirmed in the southeastern city of Bobo-Dioulasso, the second largest city and the nearby town of Gaoua, which is close to the border with Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana. Another 21 suspected cases are under investigation.
Outbreaks of yellow fever can give rise to sudden and severe epidemics, especially in densely populated areas as Bobo-Dioulasso, where the mortality rate can be as high as 50%.
(Source: World Health Organisation 14/5/04)
After confirming 3 fatal cases of plague infection in San Pedro de Yaucupamba during the last 2 months, health officials in Chimborazo Province advised local doctors to be vigilant to any suspected cases of bubonic plague in their patients.
The consumption of poorly cooked guinea pigs, or the direct contact with the infected host or fleas could potentially explain why the disease is endemic in the region.
(Source: ProMED-mail 13/5/04)