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	731	World Health Organization, 6 December 2018
Brazil	228,042	World Health Organization, 20 December 2018
Cambodia	8,844	World Health Organization, 6 December 2018
Guangdong, China	3,250	Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, 14 December 2018
India	89,974	Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 25 November 2018
Japan	191	National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 18 December 2018
Lao PDR	5,914	World Health Organization, 6 December 2018
Macao, China	5”	Health Bureau of Macau, 6 November 2018
Malaysia	68,603	World Health Organization, 6 December 2018
Mexico	72,197	World Health Organization, 20 December 2018
Philippines	106,386	World Health Organization, 6 December 2018
Singapore	3,067^@	Singapore National Environment Agency, 20 December 2018
Sri Lanka	48,303	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 20 December 2018
Taiwan, China	183”	CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 20 December 2018
Thailand	81,489	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 18 December 2018
Vietnam	113,850	World Health Organization, 6 December 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.

Ukraine: Measles [Update]

Ukraine continues to report measles at high levels. From the beginning of this year to 8 December, 49,518 cases have been reported across the country, including 16 deaths.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 22 December 2018)

Mainland China: Dengue Fever [Update]

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health reported the latest number of cases of dengue fever (DF), and again urged the public to maintain strict environmental hygiene, mosquito control and personal protective measures both locally and during travel.

From December 13 to 20, the CHP recorded two imported dengue fever cases. The patients had been to the Philippines (one case) and India (one case) during the incubation period.

As of December 20, 159 cases had been confirmed this year, of which 29 were local cases and 130 were imported cases. The imported cases were mainly from Thailand (35), Mainland China (29) and the Philippines (22).

DF remains endemic in some areas in Asia and beyond. In Guangdong, there were 3,250 cases in the first 11 months of this year. The latest figures for 2018 revealed that 81,489 cases had been recorded in Thailand, 3,067 in Singapore (since December 31, 2017) and 191 in Japan.

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 21 December 2018)

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Ebola Virus Disease [Update]

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The number of cases has reached 560 and the total number of deaths is 336.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 20 December 2018)

India: Japanese Encephalitis [Update]

Health officials of India reported 108 cases of Japanese encephalitis in Maharashtra this year, with 6 of them being symptomatic and requiring treatment.

(Source: ProMED-mail 20 December 2018)

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Ebola Virus Disease [Update]

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The number of cases has reached 549 and the total number of deaths is 326.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 19 December 2018)

Japan: Rubella [Update]

In Japan, 121 additional rubella cases were reported in the latest week (week 49), bringing the total to 2,586. Tokyo also leads this number with 865 cases reported year-to-date.

[Editor Note: In recent months, there is a significant increase of rubella cases in Japan.

Pregnant women and women preparing for pregnancy who are non-immune to rubella are advised not to travel to areas with ongoing rubella outbreaks.

Members of the public should review their vaccination history and past medical history at least two weeks before departure. People may be considered as non-immune to rubella if they did not have rubella infection confirmed by laboratory test before and had not been vaccinated against rubella. For those who had not been vaccinated, with unknown vaccination history or unknown immunity against rubella, they (especially pregnant women and children aged under one year who are not due for the first dose of Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) combined vaccine in Hong Kong) are advised to consult doctor for advice.]

(Source: National Institute of Infectious Diseases 18 December 2018)

The Philippines: Schistosomiasis

A recent outbreak of schistosomiasis has been reported in Leyte province, The Philippines. Since November this year, 57 cases have been reported.

(Source: Pro-MED Mail 18 December 2018)