Current Travel Health News
Travel Health News Digest (10 July 2005)
Asia: Avian Influenza, poultry and human [update-41]
The Philippines reported its first case of Avian Influenza after ducks were found to be infected in a town north of Manila, prompting the country to immediately halt poultry exports to Japan.In Vietnam, over 7 000 ducks infected with Avian Influenza virus in Vietnam's central Quang Tri province were culled last week and over 10 000 infected waterfowl in the province were culled last month.
In Chosun of North Korea, an Avian Influenza outbreak that began in February 2005 had been stamped out. The culling of 218 000 chickens and vaccination of 1.1 million poultry in affected areas had ended the outbreak.
A scientific journal “Nature” published latest research findings on H5N1 virus outbreak in migratory waterfowl in Qinghai, the Mainland. The study concluded that the virus causing the outbreak in Qinghai Lake was most probably from poultry in southern China. The virus might be carried along the birds’ winter migration routes to the south Asian subcontinent and spread along migratory flyways linked to Europe.
As of 7 July, World Health Organization confirmed a total of 108 human cases (54 deaths) of Avian Influenza in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia since early January 2004.
(Source: ProMED-mail 6-8 July 2005, Nature 7 July 2005)
[Editor's Note: For more information on Avian Influenza, travellers may go to the Influenza page of Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health.]
In South Korea, an imported case of Cholera was confirmed. The patient had been to the Philippines before contracting the infection. No additional Cholera case was reported.
In Taiwan, two confirmed indigenous Cholera cases were reported - one in Tainan city and one in Hsinying city. Both patients had been isolated and given treatment in the hospital. They were infected by Vibrio cholerae O1 Ogawa strain.
In Pakistan, 18 people died from gastroenteritis in Balochistan province. The cause of the disease had not yet been confirmed.
(Source: ProMED-mail 8 July 2005)
In Bangalore of India, more than 50 cases of suspected Dengue Fever cases and one confirmed case were admitted into hospitals during the last couple of weeks.
In the North Cotabato province of the Philippines, 673 cases of Dengue Fever were confirmed during the first 6 months of 2005. There were 5 396 Dengue patients and 77 fatalities nationwide in this period.
In Colombo of Sri Lanka, the number of Dengue affected children below 5 years had shown a 50% increase. There were 3 infant deaths within a month.
More than 20 residents of Al-Muntazahat District in Yemen had come down with Dengue Fever.
At least 10 000 people in Vietnam's southern Mekong Delta had been infected with Dengue Fever so far this year, of whom 13 died.
(Source: ProMED-mail 8 July 2005)
Indonesia: Poliomyelitis [update-4]
In Indonesia, 56 new Poliomyelitis cases were confirmed, bringing the total number of cases to 122. Most of these new cases were from the province of Banten and West Java, and one of them was from Lampung province of Sumatra. Sumatra and Central Java would be included in the next phase of the large-scale immunization campaigns in August.(Source: World Health Organization 4-5, 8 July 2005)
In Cordilleras of the Philippines, 565 Malaria cases were reported in the first four months, a 10% increase compared with the same period last year.
(Source: ASEAN Disease Surveillance 8 July 2005)
As of 30 June, more than 1 000 cases of Influenza and 2 deaths were reported among small children in the capital Phnom Penh of Cambodia. This outbreak began in the 2nd week of June, affecting mainly urban areas of Phnom Penh, Battambang, Siem Reap and Kampong Cham. About 90% of the cases were under the age of 5. Influenza B Virus and Respiratory Syncytial Virus were isolated from the infected children.
(Source: ProMED-mail 29 June 2005, 2, 5 July 2005)
[Editor's Note: The Influenza virus is transmitted mainly through airborne respiratory droplets. Spread by direct contact is also possible. Travellers visiting affected areas should avoid crowded places or contact with infected persons. Risk of Influenza infection can also be reduced by vaccination.]
South Korea: Arcanobacterium haemolyticum Infection
More than 140 students had been infected with a rare bacterium, Arcanobacterium haemolyticum, in Guri (in the east of Seoul), South Korea since May 2005. The non-lethal pathogen can cause tonsillitis and chronic skin ulcers, and is known to affect animals as well as humans via respiratory route.(Source: ProMED-mail 5 July 2005, ASEAN Disease Surveillance 6 July 2005)
Russia (Lipetsk, Astrakhan): Rabies, human and animal
In Russia, about 3 000 animal cases of Rabies had been reported during the first 5 months of 2005 and there were 9 fatal human cases who had contact with the infected animals.In Lipetsk, since the beginning of 2005, 1 500 people were suspected of infected with Rabies and sought medical assistance. In Astrakhan, 4 people died from Rabies during the first 5 months.
(Source: ProMED-mail 8 July 2005)
[Editor's Note: Lipetsk region is situated on the central part of the Russian Plain, 250 km south of Moscow. Astrakhan is located at 1 500 km south of Moscow]
Russia: Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever
In Stavropol of Russia, 28 people had been diagnosed with Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever since April 2005. Among the 19 people being treated in hospital at present, 6 of them were confirmed.(Source: ProMED-mail 8 July 2005)
In Senegal, 469 new Cholera cases and 4 deaths were confirmed last week. The majority of the cases had occurred in the regions of Diourbel, Fatick, Dakar and Thies.
In western and central Guinea, 21 people had died in a new Cholera outbreak that had infected 345 people since last month.
In Liberia, there had been confirmed cases of Cholera in Nimba and Sinoe counties during the past 18 days.
In Mali, there were at least 14 deaths among 110 Cholera cases in an outbreak of Cholera.
In Guinea-Bissau, more than 400 new cases were reported in the past week. Since the beginning of the outbreak in June, 1 027 Cholera cases including 12 deaths had been confirmed. The majority of the cases were located in the capital Bissau.
(Source: World Health Organization 8 July 2005, ProMED-mail 8 July 2005)
An outbreak of Poliomyelitis occurred in Yemen, with 300 cases confirmed from mid-May to late June. Out of its 22 provinces, 17 were affected. Hodeidah, which was about 200 km west of the capital, was most hit.
(Source: ProMED-mail 4 July 2005)
Angola: African Trypanosomiasis
In the Northern Uige Province of Angola, at least 29 cases of African Trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) were recorded over the last 20 days - 15 patients in Uige District and 14 in Songo District.(Source: ProMED-mail 3 July 2005)