Current Travel Health News

Dengue fever is now endemic in more than 100 countries in Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. This includes various popular tourist destinations for Hong Kong people including the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Travellers planning to travel in these areas should take precautions against the disease.

Cumulative reported number of dengue cases since 01/01/2016 *

	Cumulative reported no. of cases since 01/01/2016	Source of information and date of report
Australia	1,106	World Health Organization, 14 June 2016
Brazil	1,130,316	World Health Organization, 10 June 2016
Cambodia	1,771	World Health Organization, 14 June 2016
Guangdong	48	Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, 15 June 2016
India	5,605	Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 30 May 2016
Japan	141#	National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 14 June 2016
Lao PDR	840	World Health Organization, 14 June 2016
Mexico	28,199	World Health Organization, 10 June 2016
Philippines	33,748	World Health Organization, 14 June 2016
Singapore	8,607^	Singapore National Environment Agency, 15 June 2016
Sri Lanka	18,735	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 14 June 2016
Taiwan	372	CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 16 June 2016
Thailand	19,029	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 14 June 2016
Vietnam	25,441	World Health Organization, 14 June 2016

Remark:
* Dengue reporting systems vary by country.
^ Cumulative cases since 3 January 2016
# Cumulative cases since 4 January 2016.

Travellers should stay vigilant against dengue fever and adopt the following personal preventive measures against mosquito bite:

*	Always wear loose, light-coloured long-sleeved tops and trousers;
*	Stay in air-conditioned residence or places with mosquito screens;
*	If mosquito screen or air-conditioning is absent, aerosol insecticide and bed nets are advised;
*	Use insect repellents containing DEET on exposed skin and clothing;
*	Use insect repellents containing DEET apart from applying sunscreen while staying in beaches;
*	Re-apply insect repellents according to instructions during the trip;
*	Carry a portable bed nets and apply permethrin on it as well as to clothes if travelling to rural areas where dengue fever is prevalent.

Travellers returning from areas where dengue fever is prevalent should seek medical advice as soon as possible if they feel unwell and provide travel details to their doctors.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome

The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health is closely monitoring six additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), including one death, reported to the World Health Organization by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and again urged the public to pay special attention to safety during travel, taking due consideration of health risks in the places they visit.

The four male and two female patients, aged from 49 to 85, all had underlying illnesses. Among them, four had frequently consumed raw camel milk and three of them had frequent contact with camels.

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 20 June 2016)

 

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Yellow Fever

The Democratic Republic of Congo declared an epidemic of yellow fever, reporting 1,000 suspected cases.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 20 June 2016)

 

Nigeria: Lassa fever

So far in 2016, 717 suspected cases of Lassa fever, including 87 deaths, were reported in Nigeria.

(Source: ProMED-mail 19 June 2016)

 

Taiwan: Japanese Encephalitis

The first indigenous case of Japanese Encephalitis has been reported in Taiwan this year.

(Source: ProMED-mail 18 June 2016)