Current Travel Health News
Current Travel Health News
Take precautions against dengue fever when travelling abroad
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. |
Source of information and date of report |
Australia |
1,579 |
World Health Organization, 23 August 2016 |
Brazil |
1,399,480 |
World Health Organization, 5 August 2016 |
Cambodia |
1,771 |
World Health Organization, 23 August 2016 |
Guangdong |
121 |
Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, 23 August 2016 |
India |
15,099 |
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 28 July 2016 |
Japan |
200# |
National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 23 August 2016 |
Lao PDR |
2,719 |
World Health Organization, 23 August 2016 |
Mexico |
41,986 |
World Health Organization, 5 August 2016 |
Philippines |
84,085 |
World Health Organization, 23 August 2016 |
Singapore |
10,918^ |
Singapore National Environment Agency, 25 August 2016 |
Sri Lanka |
37,410 |
Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 25 August 2016 |
Taiwan |
376 |
CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 25 August 2016 |
Thailand |
33,352 |
Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 24 August 2016 |
Vietnam |
36,639 |
World Health Organization, 23 August 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.
6 cases of anthrax were reported in Niaga area, Pakistan.
(Source: ProMED-mail 29 August 2016)
Mainland: Avian influenza, human
A human case of H9N2 avian influenza was reported in Mengzi City, China.
(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 29 August 2016)
Singapore: Zika virus infection
The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health is closely monitoring 41 additional local cases of Zika Virus Infection in Singapore. According to the Ministry of Health of Singapore, all the cases are residents or workers in the Aljunied Crescent or Sims Drive area who had no recent travel history to affected areas and were likely to have been infected in Singapore.
(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 28 August 2016)
Three fatal cases of Lassa fever were reported in Delta state of Nigeria.
(Source: ProMED-mail 28 August 2016)
2 confirmed cases of cholera were reported in South Korea.
(Source: ProMED-mail 27 August 2016)
A case of tularaemia was reported in Boulder, USA.
(Source: ProMED-mail 27 August 2016)
Pakistan: Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever [Update]
On 26 August 2016, two more cases of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever were reported in Loralai and Quetta, Pakistan.
(Source: ProMED-mail 27 August 2016)
Thailand: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
On 30 July 2016, the Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, announced a laboratory confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) in an 18-year-old Kuwaiti man.
(Source: World Health Organization 26 August 2016)
Togo: Avian Influenza, poultry
Outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza among poultry were reported in Togo.
(Source: ProMED-mail 25 August 2016)
USA: Zika virus infection [Update]
The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health is closely monitoring the first local case of Zika Virus Infection reported in an additional area in Florida in the United States. According to the Florida Department of Health, apart from two areas in Miami-Dade County (Wynwood and Miami Beach) confirmed with active local Zika virus transmission, the first local case was reported in Pinellas County. To date, 508 imported and 42 local cases have been recorded in Florida.
(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 24 August 2016)
So far this year, 8,400 cases of Lyme disease have been reported in Switzerland.
[Editor’s note: Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by spirochaete. The disease is characterised by a distinctive skin lesion, general discomfort, fatigue, fever, headache, stiff neck, muscle and joint pain, and lymph node swelling. Neurological, cardiac and joint abnormalities may occur in varying combinations over months to years. Lyme disease is transmitted by ticks. It is not transmitted from person-to-person. Wild rodents and deer are important host of the vector tick species. To prevent acquiring the disease, travellers should wear light-coloured clothing that covers legs and arms, tuck trousers into socks and apply tick repellent containing DEET.]
(Source: ProMED-mail 24 August 2016)
Myanmar: Japanese Encephalitis
17 cases of Japanese encephalitis, including 3 deaths, were reported in Kayin State of Myanmar.
(Source: ProMED-mail 24 August 2016)
As of 17 August 2016, 206 cases of hepatitis A were reported in Hawaii, USA. Scallops implicated in the outbreak were tested positive for hepatitis A.
(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 23 August 2016)