Current Travel Health News
Travel Health News Digest (23 October 2005)
In Venezuela, health authorities confirmed the death of a 14-year-old child due to Yellow Fever in San Fernando of Apure state. Another 5 confirmed and 13 probable cases of Yellow Fever were reported in the state of Portuguesa. Vaccination campaign was carried out in the states, Bolivar, Portuguesa, Apure and neighboring areas where there had been outbreaks.
(Source: ProMED-mail 17 October, 19 October 2005)
As of 11 October, 2 fatal cases of Yellow Fever in the district of Goudiri were confirmed by the Senegalese Ministry of Health. A massive immunization campaign was organised by local health authority in Goudiri and the neighbouring district of Kidira to control the disease.
(Source: ProMED-mail 17 October 2005, World Health Organization 20 October 2005)
India: Japanese Encephalitis [update]
In the northern India state of Uttar Pradesh, 1 142 people had died of Japanese Encephalitis. More than 200 people remained hospitalised. Over 4 800 cases had been reported in Uttar Pradesh since mid-July 2005. The government would start a vaccination drive in November to tackle next year's expected outbreak.
(Source: ProMED-mail 19 October 2005)
Indonesia: Poliomyelitis [update]
As of 19 October, a total of 300 cases of Poliomyelitis were reported in 10 provinces of Indonesia. Health officials believed that the disease was brought into the country by migrant workers, pilgrims and travellers.
(Source: ProMED-mail 19 October 2005)
In Sweden, a case of Avian Influenza had been confirmed in one of 4 ducks found dead in Eskilstuna, about 100 km west of the capital, Stockholm. Further confirmation tests of the H5N1 strain virus were pending.
In Britain, it was confirmed that a parrot kept in a quarantine station in Essex had died of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain Avian Influenza.
In Russia, Avian Influenza had been reported in more villages in the western Siberian province of Kurgan and in the southern Urals. Bird flu was also suspected in a village in the Altai region, close to the Kazakh border. Russian authorities had culled hundreds of thousands of fowl and imposed numerous quarantine zones.
In Romania, new cases of Avian Influenza were detected in various areas of the Danube delta. One of them was 10 km away from the border with Ukraine, near the village of C.A. Rosetti. The presence of H5N1 bird flu outbreaks had also been recorded in 3 other areas, namely, Ceamurlia de Jos, Maliuc and Jurj Vasile. Domestic birds in these villages had been culled. Romania had not reported any cases of bird flu in humans so far.
In Greece, cases of Avian Influenza were detected in birds in Chios and Evros. Confirmation tests for the H5N1 strain virus were still pending.
In Croatia, the agriculture ministry confirmed that Avian Influenza virus was identified in 6 dead swans found at a fish pond. The Croatian authority immediately banned hunting and transport of wild fowl and poultry.
(Source: ProMED-mail 17-19 October, 21 October, 23 October 2005)
[Editor’s Note: 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.]
Mainland: Avian Influenza, bird
In the Mainland, an outbreak of H5N1 Avian Influenza occurred at a poultry farm near the capital of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia with 2 600 birds found dead. The outbreak had been brought under control.
(Source: Xinhua News Agency 20 October 2005)
Thailand and Indonesia: Avian Influenza, human
In Thailand, the Ministry of Public Health had confirmed the first case of human infection with H5N1 Avian Influenza since October last year. The patient was a 48-year old man from Kanchanaburi province (150km west of Bangkok). He developed symptoms on 13 October, was hospitalised on 17 October, and died on 19 October. He had had close contact with diseased poultry during slaughter. The man’s 7-year-old son developed respiratory symptoms on 16 October and was tested positive for the virus by a local laboratory, but there was no evidence that the boy contracted the disease from his father. He had had close contact with diseased poultry as well. The boy was hospitalised and was recovering.
In Indonesia, samples of a 63-year-old man and his 22-year-old son who had previously been suspected of having Avian Influenza had been tested negative for the disease.
(Sources: World Health Organization 20 October 2005, ProMED-mail 20-22 October 2005)