Current Travel Health News
Travel Health News Digest (2 October 2005)
Russia: Hepatitis A [update-2]
Health Authority in Russia reported that 1 034 people (including 211 children) diagnosed with Hepatitis A had been hospitalised in the Nizhniy Novgorod region. Anti-epidemic measures were being taken in the region.
(Source: ProMED-mail 29 September 2005)
At least 800 people had been killed in a Cholera outbreak which had struck nearly 50 000 in West Africa since mid-2005. Affected countries included Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal.
(Source: ProMED-mail 1 October 2005)
As of 17 September, 446 suspected cases of Yellow Fever had been reported in Venezuela and 3 cases had been confirmed. All confirmed cases were from Merida State.
(Source: ProMED-mail 27 September 2005)
[Editor’s Note: Merida state is close to Lake Maracaibo in the west of the country, bordering Colombia.]
In Venezuela, 27 820 cases of Dengue Fever had been reported so far this year. Among the cases, 6% were cases of Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever. Highest numbers of cases were reported in Carabobo, Mida, Miranda, Caracas and Trujillo.
(Source: ProMED-mail 27 September 2005)
India and Nepal: Japanese Encephalitis [update-5]
In India, a total of 3 952 cases of Japanese Encephalitis (including 950 deaths) had been reported in Uttar Pradesh since the outbreak in August this year. In addition, 280 cases were reported in Bihar and 1 case in Madhya Pradesh. In Nepal, there were 22 cases.
(Source: ProMED-mail 26 September & 1 October 2005)
In the Philippines, an outbreak of Cholera was confirmed in the province of Catanduanes. A total of 180 Cholera cases including 5 deaths were reported in this outbreak.
(Source: ProMED-mail 1 October 2005)
In Malaysia, more than 7 000 cases (see Editor’s Note below) of Dengue Fever (including 70 deaths) were reported so far this year.
In Singapore, nearly 11 000 cases of Dengue Fever (including 11 deaths) were reported this year. A total of 714 new cases were reported in last week, reaching a record high for a single week.
(Source: ProMED-mail 27 September 2005)
[Editor’s Note: According to information from one official of the Health Ministry of Malaysia, the number of Dengue cases for the first nine months in Malaysia was 27 569.]
Indonesia: Poliomyelitis [update-11]
In Indonesia, 11 new Poliomyelitis cases were confirmed from Banten, Lampung and Central Java provinces, bringing the total number of cases to 251.
(Source: World Health Organization 30 September 2005)
Indonesia: Avian Influenza, human [update-2]
The Ministry of Health of Indonesia had confirmed the fourth human case of H5N1 Avian Influenza. The case was a 27-year-old woman from Jakarta and she died on 26 September. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the highly pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza was now endemic in poultry in many parts of Indonesia. As influenza virus activity in Indonesia might increase during the wet season from November to April, there could be greater risk of human exposure to the virus during the coming months.
(Source: World Health Organization 29 September 2005)
[Editor’s Note: Current investigations in Indonesia had not produced any evidence that the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus can spread easily from person to person. Travellers to areas affected by Avian Influenza should avoid visiting any poultry farms, contacting with poultry or birds or sick persons, and should consume only well cooked poultry products. If your domestic helper needs to visit Indonesia, please advise him or her to remain vigilance about the epidemic situation of Avian Influenza in his or her hometown and the necessary precautions to adopt.]