Travel Health Service Year 2017

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 01/01/2017 *

	Cumulative reported no. of cases since 01/01/2017	Source of information and date of report
Australia	601	World Health Organization, 4 July 2017
Brazil	144,326	World Health Organization, 7 July 2017
Cambodia	765	World Health Organization, 4 July 2017
India	23,094	Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 16 July 2017
Guangdong	61	Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, 13 July 2017
Japan	94^#	National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 18 July 2017
Lao PDR	3,048	World Health Organization, 4 July 2017
Malaysia	48,092	World Health Organization, 4 July 2017
Mexico	3,782	World Health Organization, 7 July 2017
Philippines	33,760	World Health Organization, 4 July 2017
Singapore	1,584	Singapore National Environment Agency, 20 July 2017
Sri Lanka	98,390	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 20 July 2017
Taiwan	0”	CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 20 July 2017
Thailand	22,356	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 18 July 2017
Vietnam	45,074	World Health Organization, 4 July 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.

Yemen: Cholera [Update]

368,207 suspected cholera cases were reported in Yemen. 1,828 people died.

(Source: ProMED-mail 24 July 2017)

Pakistan: Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever

A case of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever was reported in Punjab, Pakistan.

(Source: ProMED-mail 24 July 2017)

Bolivia: Yellow Fever [Update]

The 5th case of yellow fever was reported in Bolivia.

(Source: ProMED-mail 23 July 2017)

Israel: Hepatitis A among MSM

Cases of hepatitis A among men who have sex with men (MSM) were reported in Israel. These cases were linked to outbreaks in Europe.

(Source: ProMED-mail 22 July 2017)

Iran: Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever [Update]

At least 80 cases of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever were reported in Iran, of these, 5 people have died.

(Source: ProMED-mail 22 July 2017)

Hong Kong: Japanese Encephalitis

The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health confirmed the first local case of Japanese encephalitis (JE) transmitted by blood transfusion in hospital.

Investigations revealed that the male patient aged 52 had received a number of blood transfusions during hospitalisation. Two of the samples were tested positive for JE virus.

While JE is principally mosquito-borne, overseas scientific literature show that, based on nature of similar flaviviruses, blood transfusion and organ transplant are considered to be potential modes of transmission of JE virus.

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 21 July 2017)

Mainland: Avian influenza, human [Update]

The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health is monitoring a notification from the National Health and Family Planning Commission that one additional human case of avian influenza A(H7N9) was recorded from July 14 to 20 in Jiangsu, and strongly urged the public to maintain strict personal, food and environmental hygiene both locally and during travel. The 62-year-old female patient in Nanjing was known to have exposure to live poultry market and had onset on July 12.

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 21 July 2017)

Bolivia: Yellow Fever

2 cases of yellow fever were reported in Norte de los Yungas, Bolivia.

(Source: ProMED-mail 20 July 2017)

Yemen: Cholera [Update]

More than 356,591 suspected cholera cases were reported in Yemen. 1,802 people died.

(Source: ProMED-mail 20 July 2017)

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Poliomyelitis

Cases of vaccine-derived poliomyelitis have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all travellers to DRC to be fully vaccinated against polio.

(Source: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 19 July 2017)

Sri Lanka: Dengue fever

From 1 January to 7 July 2017, Sri Lanka reported 80,732 dengue fever cases, including 215 deaths. Approximately 43% of the cases were reported from the Western Province.

(Source: World Health Organization 19 July 2017)

Somalia: Cholera [Update]

Since January 2017, a total of 56,628 cases of cholera have been reported in Somalia, including 806 deaths.

(Source: World Health Organization 18 July 2017)

Bangladesh: Measles

9 fatal cases of measles have been reported in Bangladesh.

(Source: ProMED-mail 18 July 2017)