Travel Health Service Year 2018

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 01/01/2018 *

	Cumulative reported no. of cases since 01/01/2018	Source of information and date of report
Australia	532	World Health Organization, 13 September 2018
Brazil	239,389	World Health Organization, 30 August 2018
Cambodia	6,097	World Health Organization, 13 September 2018
Guangdong	378	Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, 17 September 2018
India	40,868	Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 30 September 2018
Japan	130	National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 2 October 2018
Lao PDR	4,435	World Health Organization, 13 September 2018
Macau	4”	Health Bureau of Macau, 29 September 2018
Malaysia	51,337	World Health Organization, 13 September 2018
Mexico	36,101	World Health Organization, 4 October 2018
Philippines	69,088	World Health Organization, 13 September 2018
Singapore	2,139^@	Singapore National Environment Agency, 4 October 2018
Sri Lanka	39,338	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 4 October 2018
Taiwan	142”	CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 2 October 2018
Thailand	61,917	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 3 October 2018
Vietnam	48,607	World Health Organization, 13 September 2018

* Dengue reporting systems vary by country/area.
@ Cumulative cases since 31 December 2017.
“ Locally-acquired

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.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Ebola Virus Disease [Update]

According to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Ministry of Health’s (MoH) update on the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), the number of confirmed outbreak cases has now reached 142. In addition, there are another 35 probable cases reported. The total number of deaths is 113.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 8 October 2018)

Central Africa Republic: Hepatitis E

On 2 October 2018, the Ministry of Health and Population in the Central African Republic declared an outbreak of hepatitis E virus infection. 31 cases were identified.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 8 October 2018)

Niger: Cholera [Update]

The cholera outbreak in Niger that started in early July is ongoing. Since the beginning of the outbreak in July 2018, a total of 3,692 cholera cases, including 68 deaths have been reported.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 05 Oct 2018))

Somalia: Cholera [Update]

The ongoing cholera outbreak in Somalia started in December 2017. As of 23 September 2018, a total of 6394 cholera cases, including 42 deaths, have been reported.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 05 Oct 2018)

Nigeria: Poliomyelitis

Nigeria recorded three more cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), bringing the 2018 total to 14.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 5 October 2018)

Europe: West Nile Virus infection [Update]

During the past week, European health officials reported 50 additional human West Nile virus infections. The cases were reported from Greece (22), Romania (19), Hungary (7), Bulgaria (1) and the Czech Republic (1).

(Source: Outbreak News Today 07 Oct 2018)

Democratic Republic of Congo: Ebola Virus Disease [Update]

According to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Ministry of Health’s (MoH) update on the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), the number of confirmed outbreak cases has now reached 133. In addition, there are another 32 probable cases reported. The total number of deaths is 106.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 4 October 2018)

USA: Salmonellosis [Update]

There is another Salmonella outbreak in the USA this year. This time, linked to ground beef products. According to the early notices, the investigation identified 57 Salmonella illnesses from 16 states.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 4 October 2018)

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) recorded 32 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome last summer, 10 of which died of the disease. The latest case confirmed this week involved a man being a household contact of an earlier reported patient.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 3 October 2018)

Mexico: Dengue fever

Mexico State of Chiapas reported 2,600 cases of dengue fever treated this year, with 1,350 confirmed cases and 10 deaths.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 3 October 2018)

Brazil: Measles

The Brazil Ministry of Health reported that as of 1st October, there are 1,935 measles cases confirmed throughout the country this year. All are related to importation.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 3 October 2018)

Yemen: Cholera [Update]

Yemen reported 1.2 million suspected cholera cases and 2,515 associated deaths from an ongoing outbreak since April 2017, with an average of 10,000 cases reported per week.

(Source: ProMED-mail 3 October 2018)

Democratic Republic of Congo: Ebola Virus Disease [Update]

According to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Ministry of Health’s (MoH) update on the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), the number of confirmed outbreak cases has now reached 129. In addition, there are another 32 probable cases reported. The total number of deaths is 105.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 2 October 2018)

Ukraine: Measles [Update]

The Ukrainian Ministry of Health reported 540 additional measles cases last week, making a total of 31,954 cases this year.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 2 October 2018)

Ukraine: Anthrax

The Ukrainian Ministry of Health reported at least 5 people who participated in livestock breeding in Odessa region being hospitalized for symptoms of cutaneous anthrax.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 2 October 2018)