Current Travel Health News
Travel Health News Digest (19 June 2005)
Two cholera cases believed to be related to eating seafood were reported in April and May in Hawaii, USA. The disease is rare in Hawaii, with only 1 case reported last year.
(Source: ProMED-mail 15 June 2005)
An outbreak of a low-pathogenic avian influenza (H7N2) was reported in a duck farm in New York, USA. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry warned that the strain might develop into a high-pathogenic strain and infect humans. Further tests were being conducted. (Source: ProMED-mail 15 June 2005)
Expert estimated that there were more than 2 000 suspected cases of cholera and at least 8 people had died in the past 2 weeks in Afghanistan capital Kabul while the health officials confirmed 300 cases with no fatalities. The cholera bacteria had been detected in well water around the city as well as irrigation water.
(Source: ProMED-mail 14 June 2005)
An anthrax outbreak in humans had resurfaced with 5 cases reported since the beginning of last week in Masvingo, Zimbabwe after an outbreak occurred a few months ago. One person might have died of the disease after eating beef suspected to have been contaminated with anthrax.
(Source: ProMED-mail 14 June 2005)
In Uganda, cholera outbreaks had killed at least 10 people, while hundreds of others had been treated for the disease in Kampala.
(Source: ProMED-mail 19 June 2005)
Angola: Marburg hemorrhagic fever [update-11]
As of 16 June, the health officials of Angola had reported 422 cases of Marburg hemorrhagic fever in Uige province and 356 deaths.
(Source: ProMED-mail 17 June 2005)
India: Meningococcal disease [update-2]
As of 8 June, the total number of meningococcal disease cases in India were 405 with 48 deaths and 314 had been discharged from hospital. The causative agent, Neiserria meningitidis serogroup A, had been confirmed. Control measures were underway.
(Source: ProMED-mail 14 June 2005)
The health officials in India reported that 36 children had died in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar state last week due to suspected encephalitis. Medical team was studying the cause of the spread of the disease. (Source: ProMED-mail 19 June 2005)
About 30 persons were infected with anthrax after consuming raw meat during a festival in several villages in the Orissa state, India. Three patients were dead.
(Source: ProMED-mail 13-14 June 2005)
An outbreak of hepatitis A involving 642 people including 177 children occurred in Tver region, southwestern Russia.
(Source: ProMED-mail 18 June 2005)
There were reports of an increase in measles cases and school outbreaks in Shenzhen, Mainland recently. Measles notifications in Shenzhen this year was higher than the same period last year.
(Source: Oriental Daily News 16 June 2005)
Indonesia: Poliomyelitis [update]
Seven new polio cases were confirmed in Indonesia, bringing the total number of cases to 46. Two of these cases were from West Java, the same district of the index cases and five were from a neighbouring district. A polio immunization campaign was conducted, covering West Java, Banten and Jakarta provinces.
(Source: World Health Organization 14 June 2005)
Asia: Avian influenza [update-40]
In Indonesia, a farm worker in southern Sulawesi Island had been tested positive for avian influenza virus, marking him the country's first human case of avian flu. The worker was healthy and showed no symptoms of illness.
Vietnam had confirmed 4 additional human cases of H5N1 avian influenza. All of them were hospitalised in a Hanoi hospital. The newly confirmed cases brought the total in Vietnam since December 2004 to 59 cases with 18 deaths. In addition, 6 000 poultries had been killed by the virus in the southern Vietnam.
In Qinghai of the Mainland, more than ten thousand poultries were destroyed for preventing the spread of avian influenza. Since the discovery of avian influenza in wild birds last month, more than 2 million poultries had been vaccinated.
(Source: Xinhuanet 14 June 2005, ProMED-mail 15, 18 June 2005)
[Editor’s Note: For more information on avian influenza, travellers may also go to the influenza page of Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health.]