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 |
Brazil |
1,496,282 |
World Health Organization, 6 February 2017 |
India |
111,880 |
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 31 December 2016 |
Philippines |
176,411 |
World Health Organization, 28 February 2017 |
Vietnam |
122,020 |
World Health Organization, 28 February 2017 |
Cumulative reported number of dengue cases since 01/01/2017 *
|
Cumulative reported no. |
Source of information and date of report |
Australia |
202 |
World Health Organization, 28 February 2017 |
Cambodia |
95 |
World Health Organization, 28 February 2017 |
Guangdong |
6 |
Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, 14 February 2017 |
Japan |
29# |
National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 7 March 2017 |
Lao PDR |
390 |
World Health Organization, 28 February 2017 |
Malaysia |
12,576 |
World Health Organization, 28 February 2017 |
Mexico |
4,084 |
World Health Organization, 3 March 2017 |
Singapore |
612 |
Singapore National Environment Agency, 9 March 2017 |
Sri Lanka |
19,419 |
Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 8 March 2017 |
Taiwan |
0” |
CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 9 March 2017 |
Thailand |
5,286 |
Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 7 March 2017 |
Remarks:
* Dengue reporting systems vary by country.
“ Locally-acquired
# Cumulative cases since 2 January 2017.
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.
Nepal: Avian Influenza, poultry
Nepal reported its first outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza.
(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 13 March 2017)
So far this year, 423 cases of Chikungunya fever were reported in Paraguay.
(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 13 March 2017)
Colombia: Chikungunya fever [Update]
So far this year, 279 cases of Chikungunya fever were reported in Colombia.
(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 13 March 2017)
Peru: Chikungunya fever [Update]
So far this year, 239 cases of Chikungunya fever were reported in Peru.
(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 13 March 2017)
Cholera has been confirmed in 14 counties of South Sudan, with at least 137 deaths since June 2016.
(Source: ProMED-mail 13 March 2017)
Democratic Republic of Congo: Cholera
So far this year, 3,635 cases of cholera were reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo with 103 deaths.
(Source: ProMED-mail 13 March 2017)
More than 300 fatal cases of cholera were reported in the Ogaden, Ethiopia, during the last 72 hours.
(Source: ProMED-mail 13 March 2017)
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]
The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health is closely monitoring 12 additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), including three deaths, 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 patients are 12 men aged from 45 to 80 (median age: 60.5). Among them, 11 have underlying illnesses and nine had contact with camels and consumed camel milk. In addition, four previously confirmed patients died.
(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 13 March 2017)
Namibia: Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever
2 confirmed cases of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever were reported in Namibia.
(Source: ProMED-mail 12 March 2017)
Mainland: Avian Influenza, human [Update]
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health received notification from the National Health and Family Planning Commission that 22 additional human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9), including three deaths, were recorded from March 3 to 9. The CHP strongly urges the public to maintain strict personal, food and environmental hygiene both locally and during travel.
The 15 male and seven female patients, aged from 15 to 79, had their onset from February 19 to March 4. The cases were four cases each from in Henan and Jiangxi, three cases each from Guangxi and Sichuan, two cases each in Fujian, Hunan and Jiangsu, and one case each in Guizhou and Hubei. Among them, 18 were known to have exposure to poultry or poultry markets.
In addition, according to the surveillance of the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, among 939 environmental samples collected from 98 poultry markets in Guangdong between February 27 and March 5, 78 samples (8.3 per cent) tested positive for the H7 virus.
(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 10 March 2017)
Worldwide: Zika virus infection
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has posted Zika virus travel notice for Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Maldives and Solomon Islands.
For details, please visit https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices#_blank
(Source: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 10 March 2017)
Malaysia: Avian influenza, poultry
An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) was reported in Kelantan, Malaysia.
(Source: ProMED-mail 9 March 2017)
Health officials in Canada issued an alert over a confirmed case of the measles in a person who flew between Vancouver and Edmonton at the end of February 2017. The 1st potential exposure was on 24 Feb 2017, on WestJet Flight WS 186 from Vancouver to Edmonton, and the 2nd potential exposure was on 25 Feb 2017 at the Edmonton International Airport between 12:30 am and 3:30 am.
(Source: ProMED-mail 9 March 2017)
A confirmed case of measles has been reported in Brisbane, Australia. Local health authority said a large number of people were potentially exposed when a person infected by measles visited Morningside Tennis Centre, Hampton swim school and Morningside Woolworths in late February.
(Source: ProMED-mail 9 March 2017)
An outbreak of measles has been reported in Romania with a total of 3,071 cases. To date, 16 deaths were reported, all of which occurred in persons who were immunocompromised or had other comorbidities.
(Source: ProMED-mail 9 March 2017)
Hong Kong: Avian Influenza, human [Update]
The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health is investigating an imported human case of avian influenza A(H7N9) in Hong Kong, and again urged the public to maintain strict personal, food and environmental hygiene both locally and during travel.
The male patient, aged 76 with underlying illnesses, developed fever and cough with sputum on March 3 and was later admitted to hospital for further management. His clinical diagnosis is pneumonia and he is now in a critical condition. His nasopharyngeal aspirate specimen tested positive for influenza A(H7N9) virus.
Enquiries revealed that the patient travelled alone to Fuzhou, Fujian between February 11 and March 1 during which he visited a wet market there. The patient’s close contact has remained asymptomatic so far and has been put under medical surveillance. Tracing of his other contacts in Hong Kong is underway.
(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 7 March 2017)
Mainland: Avian Influenza, human [Update]
The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health is closely monitoring two additional human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) in Guizhou and Chongqing, and again urged the public to maintain strict personal, food and environmental hygiene both locally and during travel.
According to the Health and Family Planning Commission (HFPC) of Guizhou Province, a patient aged 40 in Taijiang, who had live poultry contact before onset, is under management. In addition, the Chongqing Municipal HFPC reported that a male patient aged 66 in Fengjie is under management.
(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 7 March 2017)
Australia: Ross River Virus [Update]
In the first 6 weeks of 2017, 430 cases of Ross River Virus were reported in New South Wales, Australia.
(Source: ProMED-mail 7 March 2017)
To date, 22,181 suspected cases of cholera were reported in Yemen. 103 people have died.
(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 7 March 2017)