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	241,664	World Health Organization, 27 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	195	National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 26 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	77,159	World Health Organization, 27 December 2018
Philippines	106,386	World Health Organization, 6 December 2018
Singapore	3,219^@	Singapore National Environment Agency, 27 December 2018
Sri Lanka	49,132	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 26 December 2018
Taiwan, China	183”	CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 27 December 2018
Thailand	82,874	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 26 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.

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

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The number of cases reached 598, 548 of which have been confirmed.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 31 December 2018)

Madagascar: Measles [Update]

There were 16 430 cases of measles reported in Madagascar from 4 October to 24 December 2018. All 22 regions of Madagascar have been affected.

(Source: World Health Organization 28 December 2018)

Pakistan: Typhoid Fever [Update]

Pakistan Health Authorities have reported an ongoing outbreak of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid fever that began in Sindh province, Pakistan in November 2016. From 1 Nov 2016 through 9 Dec 2018, 5274 cases of XDR typhoid out of 8188 typhoid fever cases were reported.

(Source: ProMED-mail 28 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 591 and the total number of deaths is 357.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 27 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 585 and the total number of deaths is 356.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 26 December 2018)

Japan: Rubella [Update]

In Japan, 116 additional rubella cases were reported in the latest week (week 50), bringing the total to 2,713. Tokyo also leads this number with 899 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 26 December 2018)

Mainland, China: Avian influenza [Update]

The World Health Organization received notification of 2 additional human cases of avian influenza A (H9N2) involving a 10-month-old girl from Guangdong and a 3-year-old boy from Guangxi province respectively.

The girl from Guangdong had disease onset on 16 October, with a prior contact history with live poultry. The boy from Guangxi had disease onset on 10 October, with no contact history with poultry.

6 human cases of avian influenza A (H9N2) have been reported in China this year.

(Source: Pro-MED Mail 26 December 2018)