Current Travel Health News

The Ministry of Health in Egypt has confirmed the country's first case of human infection with the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus since May of this year. The patient was a 39-year-old woman from the Gharbiya governorate in the Nile Delta. She had slaughtered and defeathered ducks at home when signs of illness and deaths began to occur in the flock. She developed symptoms on 30 September and was hospitalised since 4 October.

 

Egypt has had the largest number of human Avian Influenza cases outside of Asia. A total of 15 cases had been reported, 6 of whom were fatal.

 

In Indonesia, a 67-year-old woman had been confirmed as the country's 70th case of human infection with the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus.  The woman had contact with fowl before she was admitted to a hospital in Bandung, West Java on 7 October.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 11 October 2006)

In early October, 6 new outbreaks of H5N1 highly pathogenic Avian Influenza were confirmed in Juba, Central Equatoria state of Sudan. Of the 5 000 susceptible birds, there were 50 confirmed cases and 50 deaths. All susceptible birds had been slaughtered.

 

The Mainland's Ministry of Health has confirmed 2 254 cases of Rabies in the first three quarters of this year, a nearly 30% increment when compared with that of the same period last year. Of these cases, 318 died.

 

A bat found on a path near the Thames in Oxfordshire of United Kingdom has been tested positive for a strain of lethal virus, the European Bat Lyssavirus, that is closely related to Rabies virus.

 

[Editor’s note: In 2002, a bat handler from Augus of Scotland died after contracting the European Bat Lyssavirus. Since 1977, 4 people have died from the virus in Europe.]

 

A total of 3 villages in Gowa of Indonesia had been declared Anthrax infected zones. They were Maccinibaji, Pabbentengan and Bategulung villages. There were between 60 000 and 80 000 cattle across the area. The authority would work to completely vaccinate cattle in the area in stages. No one had been reported sick with the disease.

 

Three clusters of Measles cases were reported among the Roma/Sinti populations in 3 different regions of Italy. These clusters occurred between June and September. In the Autonomous Province of Bolzano-South Tyrol in northern Italy, 13 out of 17 cases of Measles in the city of Merano occurred among the local Roma/Sinti population. In Lazio region of central Italy, a cluster of 161 measles cases was reported.  The cluster initially involved the Roma/Sinti population of the cities of Rome and Latina, and then spread to the general population. Another cluster of Measles cases occurred in the Mediterranean island of Sardinia and affected a Roma/Sinti nomadic camp in the town of Alghero on the northwest coast. Nine cases were reported from this camp.

 

[Editor's note: The Roma people, often referred to as Gypsies, are a heterogeneous ethnic group who live in many countries of the world but primarily in Europe. The Sinti are usually considered to be a subgroup of the Roma people.]

 

As of 10 October, cases of West Nile Fever (including human, avian, animal or mosquito) have been reported in the following states of the USA: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

 

In Canada, human cases have been reported in Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

 

The World Health Organization has received report of a suspected pneumonic Plague outbreak in Haut-Uele district of Democratic Republic of Congo. The majority reported from Wamba in Oriental province in the northern part of the country. From 31 July to 8 October, 626 suspected cases including 42 deaths have been reported. However, the unusual low case fatality ratio suggested an overestimation of the suspected cases. Preliminary investigation revealed positive results in 3 out of 8 samples collected.

 

In Uganda, a fresh Cholera outbreak has been reported in the newly created Amuru district bordering South Sudan and Adjumani district. Three people were hospitalised.

 

In Garut Regency, West Java of Indonesia, more than 230 people were ill and 5 died from an illness which causing diarrhoea and vomiting. The cases occured in north Garut territory, especially Kec, Malangbong, Cibatu, and Sukawening. It was believed that these cases might have been related to lack of clean water source and poor sanitation.

 

In Panama, a total of 44 persons have been affected by the acute renal insufficiency syndrome, among whom 21 died. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States found Diethylene glycol, which have been used as a cooling product in the automotive industry, in an expectorant syrup without sugar.  This compound was believed to be related to the cause of illness of these cases. The Panama's Ministry of Health has ordered a recall of 7 of the 24 medicines produced by the laboratory of the country's Social Security Agency, all of which were used to alleviate symptoms of the common cold and influenza.

 

In Nepal, several dozen people in Belapur Village Development Committee (VDC) of the country's far-western district of Dadeldhura have been infected with an unknown disease over the last 2 weeks. Eight deaths have so far been confirmed. The patients had symptoms of severe headache, fever, and cough. In addition, more than 500 others have been infected with the disease in Siddhapur, Sikash, and Dhungadh VDCs of the same district. Proper health services were not available in these areas.

 

More than 3 400 cases of Dengue Fever and 46 related deaths have been reported from India. Around 540 cases occurred in Delhi. Other cases were reported from Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.

 

A total of 17 Dengue Fever related deaths have been reported in the city of Karachi of Pakistan. In addition, around 700 suspected Dengue Fever patients have been hospitalised, among whom around 230 were tested positive for the virus.

 

Six patients from villages near Nepalgunj in Banke district of Nepal were found to be exhibiting symptoms of Dengue Fever. Nepalgunj is near Nepal's southern border with India.

 

In Lorraine of France, there have been 12 cases of Legionellosis in September. The patients had symptom onset between 11 and 19 September and presented with chest infection. None of these patients has died. The suspected source of the outbreak was the spa in a craft fair.

 

An outbreak of Botulism had occurred in USA and Canada, affecting 4 people in the states of Georgia and Florida, and 2 people in Toronto. They all had consumed the same brand of carrot juice and no fatalities had been reported to date. 

 

[Editor's note: Foodborne botulism is a serious intoxication caused by ingestion of preformed toxins, which are produced by Clostrium botulinum, presented in the contaminated food. The features of the illness include marked fatique, weakness, blurred vision, dry mouth, difficulty in swallowing and speaking. Vomiting, constipation or diarrhoea may occur. Paralysis of breathing muscles can cause stopping of breathing and death.]

 

In Angola, more than 60 cases of Cholera have been reported in the commune of Tumbulo of southwestern province of Benguela. Among whom, 24 people died. In Kahama municipality of southern Cunene Province, 7 out of 49 cases of Cholera died.