Current Travel Health News
Travel Health News Digest (27 February 2005)
A professor of Microbiology at the University of Colorado, USA, Kathryn Holmes, said that SARS no longer exists in the wild environment and has essentially disappeared as a threat. However, Zhong Nanshan, Director of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases, disagreed and mentioned that the observation made by the American scientists only relied on virology result but lacked epidemiology evidence. So far, many studies have shown that the virus sequence isolated from civet cats is very similar to those isolated from the SARS patients. It is just too early and misleading to conclude SARS has been eradicated.
(Source: Xinhua Net 23/2/05)
Rabies cases among animals had been reported in the Kurgan region. More than 200 people bitten by sick animals required medical attention in January.
In Dubna of Moscow, a man died from rabies one month after managing carcass of an animal.
(Source: ProMED-mail 22/2/05)
In Sofala province of Mozambique, health authorities diagnosed 19 new cases of cholera.
In southwestern Nigeria, at least 46 people died of cholera and more than 100 were hospitalized in the past 2 weeks.
In South Kivu province of Congo DR, nearly 2,400 cholera cases with 23 deaths had been reported in late January.
In Equatorial Guinea, a suspected cholera outbreak began in the first week of February. More than 400 people were hospitalized and a number of deaths occurred.
(Source: ProMED-mail 25/2/05)
Chile (Puerto Montt): Gastroenteritis
Since early January, 6,300 people in Chile suffered from gastroenteritis after eating raw or under-cooked shellfish infected with Vibrio parahaemolyticus. One person was suspected to have died from the infection. Symptoms of the infection are abdominal pain and diarrhoea. Climate change and rising sea temperatures are the main reasons for the outbreak. Government warned people to cook shellfish for at least 5 minutes before consumption.
(Source: ProMED-mail 21/2/05)
Thailand: Dengue fever, measles
An increasing number dengue fever and measles cases is being reported in areas of Thailand affected by the tsunami. Phi Phi Island, Khao Lak and Takua Pa are still suffering from widespread damage.
Travellers going to tsunami affected areas should consult a travel health specialist before leaving and take precautions against food-borne and mosquito-borne diseases.
(Source: Australian Broadcasting Commission 25/2/05)
Philippines: Meningococcemia [update-7]
Barely a month after lowering the meningococcaemia alert in Baguio, local health officials reported that 9 new confirmed cases with 2 deaths occurred during the period of late January to late February.
Local medical specialist explained that lowering of the meningococcemia alert in January did not mean that the disease had been totally contained, but only because the level of the occurrences during that time declined.
(Source: ProMED-mail 25/2/05)
Since early February, at least 19 people in Morowali regency, Central Sulawesi province, died due to diarrhoea and lack of medical treatment. Another 130 people were also affected by the disease.
(Source: The Jakarta Post 24/2/05)
Malaysia: Dengue fever [update]
Dengue fever claimed 22 lives in the first six weeks of the year in Malaysia. Many were children and Kuala Lumpur topped the list. Only 5 deaths were reported during the same period of last year.
There were nearly 7,500 people hospitalized with suspected dengue during the same period, more than double as compared with last year.
(Source: New Strait Times 22/2/05)
Indonesia: HK traveller contracted dengue fever
The Department of Health confirmed an imported case of dengue fever. The patient had travelled to Indonesia in late January for 2 weeks. He had symptoms of fever, bone pain, backache, and dizziness after one week there. He had been discharged and recovered.
(Source: Department of Health, HKSAR 23/2/05)
Southeast Asia: Avian influenza [update-26]
In Vietnam, two more men, from Thai Binh Province had just been confirmed as having contracted avian influenza within a week, raising the number of infections in the country to 19, of whom 12 had died, since December last year. The younger sister of one of the two cases was also suspected of being infected. By 26 February, 14 out of the 35 localities previously found to have affected by avian influenza had no more new bird flu-affected spots for at least 3 weeks.
Due to the close geographical and economic relationship with Vietnam, health officials of the Guangxi province had implemented a series of measures, with effect from early January, to prevent avian influenza from spreading into the territory. They included: (1) temporary suspension of import of poultry and their products from Vietnam into Guangxi; (2) closure of markets trading poultry and their products at the border; (3) strict quarantine and disinfection measures for people, vehicles and materials crossing the border; (4) strengthen the crackdown of smuggling of poultry and their products; (5) vaccination against avian influenza; (6) beef up health surveillance and reporting. No outbreak has been reported in Guangxi so far.
(Source: Xinhuanet 23/2, 25/2 & 27/2/05)
Yunnan province has the largest number of HIV infected patients in the Mainland. From 1989 to mid-2004, over 15,000 patients had been infected with HIV with about 1,000 of them developed AIDS and about 600 died. Intravenous drug injection is the main route of transmission (about 75%) but transmission through sexual contact has increased from about 7% to 17%.
(Source: CDC Taiwan 24/2/05)
Mainland: Meningoccocal meningitis [update-4]
In February, Fengjiang area of Jiangmen City had 2 confirmed cases of meningoccocal meningitis. Two cases were also detected in Tianhe area of Guangzhou City. Residents were immunized by local health authority. There was no spread of the disease.
Ministry of Health announced that there were 280 meningoccocal meningitis cases across the whole county in January. The vast majority of them were sporadic cases.
(Source: Jiangmen Ri Bao 19/2/05, Nan Fang Dou Shi Bao 22/2/05, Xinhuanet 22/2/05)
Health officials in Jirapa reported an outbreak of yellow fever in the district. One case had been confirmed so far and 10 other suspected cases were pending laboratory results. Mass yellow fever immunization exercise is being provided in the district.
(Source: ProMED-mail 25/2/05)
Democratic Republic of Congo: Plague [update]
The pneumonic plague outbreak reported last week (see 20 Feb 05 Digest) occurred in the mining town of Zobia, north of Kisangani, a major trading centre on the Congo River. The outbreak began 4 days in the same diamond mine, which had been closed last year because of associated plague cases, reopened. Those who died were diamond miners. Another 350 miners had been infected. A new case was also discovered in Buta, around 190 km north of Kisangani. Concern has been raised on the spread of the contagious disease as many miners had fled to other areas.
(Source: ProMED-mail 22 & 23/2/05)