Current Travel Health News
Travel Health News Digest (14 November 2005)
Vietnam and the Mainland: Hong Kong traveller contracted Dengue Fever
The Department of Health confirmed the twenty-fourth imported case of Dengue Fever this year. The patient suffered from fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. She travelled to Vietnam and the Mainland before onset of symptoms.
(Source: Department of Health, Hong Kong SAR 1 November 2005)
The Ministry of Health of Brazil had reported 12 deaths due to Rabies in Maranhao in October. The patients contracted the disease after being bitten by blood-sucking vampire bats.
(Source: ProMED-mail 10 November 2005)
There were a total of 21 suspected Yellow Fever cases and 14 deaths in Kayes region of Mali between 7th to 27th last month.
(Source: World Health Organization 10 November 2005)
Mainland: Avian Influenza, bird [update 4]
Mainland had reported a new outbreak of H5N1 strain of Avian Influenza among poultry in Beining of Liaoning province. About 300 chickens had died since 6 November 2005. The province had suffered 3 outbreaks in less than 3 weeks and health officials had quarantined 116 people.
On 2 November, there were confirmed outbreaks of H5N1 Avian Influenza among domesticated fowl involving 2 villages and towns in Jingshan of Hubei Province. Ministry of Agriculture at present had killed 31 313 domesticated fowl.
(Source: ProMED-mail 10 & 11 November 2005 and Ministry of Agriculture, China 5 November 2005)
[Editor’s Note: Places in China with recent Avian Influenza outbreaks of bird cases include Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Liaoning and Mongolia.]
Vietnam: Avian Influenza, human and bird [update 4]
Vietnam had confirmed a human fatal case of H5N1 strain of Avian Influenza. The case affected a 35-year-old man from Hanoi who was hospitalized on 26 October and died on 29 October. Since mid-December 2004, Vietnam had reported 65 cases, of which 22 were fatal.
There were 2 new Avian Influenza outbreaks occurred in central province of Quang Nam and northern province of Bac Giang this week.
(Source: World Health Organization 9 November 2005 and ProMED-mail 10 November 2005 )
Indonesia: Avian Influenza, human
The Ministry of Health in Indonesia had confirmed two additional cases of human infection with H5N1 Avian Influenza. One was a 19-year-old woman from Tangerang, and the other was her 8-year-old brother. They developed symptoms on 19 October and 25 October respectively. The sister had died on 28 October. Sick and dying chickens had been found in the residential area of the 8-year-old child while his sister had also visited that area.
(Source: World Health Organization 7 November 2005)