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
India	157,220	Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 24 December 2017

Remarks:
* Dengue reporting systems vary by country/area.

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	117	World Health Organization, 27 February 2018
Brazil	22,580	World Health Organization, 1 March 2018
Cambodia	132	World Health Organization, 27 February 2018
Guangdong	3	Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, 15 February 2018
Japan	12	National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 27 February 2018
Lao PDR	18	World Health Organization, 27 February 2018
Macau	0	Health Bureau of Macau, 24 January 2018
Malaysia	1,200	World Health Organization, 27 February 2018
Mexico	1,941	World Health Organization, 1 March 2018
Philippines	10,980	World Health Organization, 27 February 2018
Singapore	446^@	Singapore National Environment Agency, 1 March 2018
Sri Lanka	10,677	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 27 February 2018
Taiwan	0”	CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 1 March 2018
Thailand	2,526	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 20 February 2018
Vietnam	8,667	World Health Organization, 27 February 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.

Bulgaria: Avian Influenza, poultry

Bulgaria reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza in a commercial farm.

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

India: Avian Influenza, wild birds

India reported an outbreak of avian influenza H5N1 in wild birds.

(Source: ProMED-mail 5 March 2018)

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Avian Influenza, poultry

Democratic Republic of the Congo has reported five outbreaks of avian influenza H5N8 involving village ducklings in Ituri province during November and December of 2017.

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

South Africa: Listeriosis [Update]

As of the end of February 2018, South Africa has reported 945 listeriosis cases including 176 deaths since 1 January 2017. Health officials in South Africa claimed that the source of the present listeriosis outbreak has been traced to a food factory in Polokwane. A total of 93 infected cases reported had polony and other cold meat products.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 4 March 2018)

Denmark: Avian Influenza, wild birds

Denmark reported its first detection of highly pathogenic H5N6 avian influenza in a white-tailed eagle.

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

Wales: Avian Influenza, wild birds

Wales reported the detection of avian influenza H5N6 in wild birds.

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

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Cholera [Update]

Kinshasa province in Democratic Republic of the Congo has reported an outbreak of cholera since the end of November 2017. From 25 November 2017 through 23 February 2018, 1065 cases including 43 deaths have been reported in Kinshasa province.

(Source: World Health Organization 2 March 2018)

Brazil: Yellow Fever [Update]

Brazil has reported 723 confirmed cases of yellow fever including 237 deaths from 1 July 2017 to 28 February 2018. There were 259 new cases detected in February.

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

Nigeria: Lassa Fever [Update]

From 1 January through 25 February 2018, 1081 suspected cases and 90 deaths of Lassa fever have been reported from 18 states in Nigeria. This is the largest outbreak of Lassa fever ever reported in Nigeria.

(Source: World Health Organization 1 March 2018)

Yemen: Diphtheria [Update]

The diphtheria outbreak continues in Yemen. As of 28 February, 1193 suspected cases and 72 deaths had been recorded.

(Source: ProMED-mail 1 March 2018)

Brazil: Yellow Fever [Update]

During the first 4 weeks of 2018, a rapid increase in the number of confirmed human cases of yellow fever was observed in the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Minas Gerais. From 1 Jul 2017 through 16 Feb 2018, 464 confirmed human cases of yellow fever have been reported in Brazil, including 154 deaths.

(Source: ProMED-mail 1 March 2018)

Pakistan: Measles

Pakistan reported 6,494 laboratory confirmed measles cases in 2017. The number of measles cases in 2017 is significantly increased compared to the number of cases in the previous year (only 2,845 cases reported in 2016).

(Source: Outbreak News Today 28 February 2018)

Thailand: Rabies

Health officials of Thailand reported 271 confirmed cases of rabies infection in animals this year. There were 330 reported cases of rabies-affected animals in 2015, 614 in 2016, and 843 in 2017. Dogs were the most frequently infected (89%), followed by cattle (6.6%) and cats (3.6%). A total of 14 people had died from rabies in 2017, and one death already has been recorded this year.

(Source: ProMED-mail 28 February 2018)

Namibia: Hepatitis E [Update]

Namibia has reported 894 suspected cases of hepatitis E, with 90 of them confirmed at the laboratory. Six hepatitis E-related deaths have been reported since December 2017.

(Source: ProMED-mail 28 February 2018)

Nigeria: Lassa Fever [Update]

Nigeria reported 68 new confirmed cases of lassa fever this week, including 4 deaths. Between January 1 and February 18, a total of 913 suspected cases and 73 deaths have been reported.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 27 February 2018)

Saudi Arabia: Avian Influenza, poultry

Saudi Arabia reported an outbreak of H5N8 avian influenza in Al Kharj.

(Source: ProMED-mail 27 February 2018)

Yemen: Diphtheria [Update]

As of February 10, there are 1,032 probable diphtheria cases and 64 associated deaths have been reported in Yemen. Children under 5 years old represented 30 % of probable cases and 47 % of deaths.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 27 February 2018)