Current Travel Health News

The Ministry of Health in Indonesia had confirmed 2 additional cases of human infection with the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus. These cases brought the total in Indonesia to 65. Of these cases, 49 have been fatal.

 

The first case occurred in a 5-year-old boy from East Bekasi of West Java Province. He developed symptoms on 4 March 2006 and died on 19 March. He exposed to diseased poultry in the vicinity of his home where some birds were tested positive for the H5 virus subtype.

 

The second case was a 27-year-old male from Solok of West Sumatra Province.  He developed symptom on 28 May 2006 and recovered.  He reported no contact with diseased or dead poultry before onset of symptoms but he had spent 6 days in hospital caring for his 15-year-old sister who was subsequently confirmed to be H5N1 infected.  

 

(Source: World Health Organization 14 September 2006)

On 6 September 2006, Sudan has confirmed an outbreak of Avian Influenza in local chickens in Juba of the southern Sudan.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 12 September 2006)

In India, 283 cases of Poliomyelitis have been reported this year, compared with 66 cases in 2005.  More than 90% of this year’s cases were reported in the western Uttar Pradesh, where only 27 cases had been reported in 2005.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 12 September 2006)

Afghanistan had confirmed 25 cases of Poliomyelitis cases this year, a 6-fold rise over that of the same period in 2005.  All but one of these cases were from the southern region of the country.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 12 September 2006)

As of 5 September 2006, 784 cases of Poliomyelitis have been reported in Nigeria.  They accounted for 70 percent of the global cases in 2006.  Most of the victims came from the northern states.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 12 September 2006)

In Somalia, 215 cases of Poliomyelitis had been reported so far since the outbreak began last year.  A total of 14 out of the 19 regions in Somalia have been affected.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 12 September 2006)

In the USA, a food poisoning outbreak relating to the consumption of fresh bagged spinach has sickened more than 100 persons including 1 death since 23 August. E. Coli O157:H7 was confirmed to caused this outbreak.  The victims came from 20 different states, including California, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.  The affected products were also distributed to Canada and Mexico. 

 

The US Food and Drug Administration warned people not to eat fresh spinach and fresh spinach containing products.

 

As of September 4, more than 600 people in the Plovdiv region of Bulgaria have been infected with Hepatitis A since the outbreak started in July 2006.  Most of the victims were children and teenagers.  The cause of this outbreak might have been related to the lack of a sewerage system and clean water in this region.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 11 September 2006)

More than 200 cases of Malaria have been reported In Kyrgyzstan so far in 2006.  Among whom, 80% of all cases were registered in Bishkek while the others in Batken, Jalalabad, Issik-Kul, Osh and Narin.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 17 September 2006)

Since the beginning of the year, 1 600 people have fallen ill with Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome in the Republic of Bashkortostan of Russia.  A total of 3 patients died of the illness.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 17 September 2006)

About 20 new Viral Meningitis cases have been registered daily in the Khabarovsk Territory of Russia in the recent week. The number of affected people increased to 1 490 since the beginning of the outbreak.  New cases have been registered in Komsomolsk-on-Amur and 3 adjacent areas.  About 400 have been hospitalised.  The outbreak might have been related to bathing in the Amur river and open reservoirs.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 13 September 2006)

Since the beginning of the summer, around 19 000 patients sought medical advice for tick-bites in the city and Region of Novosibirsk in Russia. A total of 499 patients have been admitted to hospital, among whom Tick-borne Encephalitis has been confirmed in 87 cases.  Three cases died from Tick-borne Encephalitis.

 

[Editor's Note: Tick-borne encephalitis is a viral infection. It is transmitted by the bite of infective ticks or by consumption of infected milk. Incubation period ranges from 7-14 days. Symptoms include fever, vomiting and paralysis. Mortality rate is about 15-20%. Travellers should adopt measures similar to anti-mosquito measures to avoid tick bite and avoid consumption of unpasteurised milk.]

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 17 September 2006)

A total of 1 400 cases of Leptospirosis have been reported in Thailand in the past 8 months resulting in 31 deaths. Most of cases were found in the northeastern and northern regions.  In Nan province alone, 60 people had contracted Leptospirosis, of whom 44 were still hospitalised and 6 had died.  The authority advised people to refrain from wading through floodwater and muddy ground with bare feet to prevent being infected.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 12 September 2006)

The number of people poisoned by toxic waste that was dumped at ten open-air sites in Abidjan of Cote d'Ivoire by a foreign ship 3 weeks ago had risen from 1500 to more than 5000 people.  The number of deaths remained unchanged at 3.  The toxic material contained hydrogen sulphide and organochloride, which can cause nausea, rashes, fainting, diarrhoea and headaches.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 12 September 2006)

As of 11 September 2006, 15 cases of community-acquired Legionnaires' Disease have been confirmed in Venice of Italy. The dates of onset ranged from 20 July to 31 August 2006.  No deaths have been reported.  Environmental investigations were in progress to identify the source of this outbreak.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 12 September 2006)

In Fiji, an outbreak of Mumps was reported in Labasa and Suva areas. Labasa Hospital had an average of 120 cases a month for the past 12 months and Suva Private Hospital reported 15 cases in August this year.

 

(Source: ProMED-mail 13 September 2006)

Ten cases of human Brucellosis had been registered in Shenzhen of the Mainland’s Guangdong Province, among whom 8 cases were reported in Baoan district while the rest in Luo Hu district.  A dairy farm in Baoan district was suspected to be the source of infection.

 

(Source: Xinhuanet,com 16 September 2006)