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 01/01/2017 *

	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	141	World Health Organization, 15 March 2018
Brazil	32,161	World Health Organization, 22 March 2018
Cambodia	173	World Health Organization, 15 March 2018
Guangdong	5	Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, 15 March 2018
Japan	20	National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 20 March 2018
Lao PDR	18	World Health Organization, 15 March 2018
Macau	0”	Health Bureau of Macau, 8 March 2018
Malaysia	1,153^#	World Health Organization, 15 March 2018
Mexico	3,276	World Health Organization, 22 March 2018
Philippines	15,599	World Health Organization, 15 March 2018
Singapore	567^@	Singapore National Environment Agency, 22 March 2018
Sri Lanka	13,345	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 21 March 2018
Taiwan	0”	CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 22 March 2018
Thailand	4,847	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 20 March 2018
Vietnam	8,667	World Health Organization, 15 March 2018

* Dengue reporting systems vary by country/area.
@ Cumulative cases since 31 December 2017.
“ Locally-acquired
# data of week 10

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.

Central African Republic: Monkeypox [Update]

A total of eight monkeypox cases with zero deaths have been reported as of 25 March since the start of the outbreak in Bambari district, Central African Republic (CAR). CAR Ministry of Health declared an outbreak on 17 March.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 2 April 2018)

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

Saudi Arabia reported three new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) over the weekend. Totally there were 1,828 cases of MERS-CoV and 739 deaths that have been reported since 2012.

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

Greece: Measles [Update]

Greece reported 2,345 measles cases since the beginning of 2017. There were 1,390 laboratory confirmed cases, and two deaths have been reported in laboratory confirmed measles cases.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 1 April 2018)

Finland: Avian Influenza, wild birds

Finland reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N6 avian influenza in wild birds.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 31 March 2018)

Brazil: Yellow Fever [Update]

Brazil has reported 1,131 confirmed cases of yellow fever including 338 deaths from 1 July 2017 to 27 March 2018.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 31 March 2018)

Somalia: Cholera

The ongoing cholera outbreak in Somalia started in December 2017. As of 18 March 2018, a total of 1613 cholera cases, including nine deaths, have been reported from four regions: Hiraan, Banadir, Lower Juba and Middle Shabelle.

(Source: World Health Organization 29 March 2018)

South Africa: Listeriosis [Update]

South Africa has reported 978 laboratory-confirmed listeriosis cases including 183 deaths between 1 January 2017 and 14 March 2018. The majority of cases have come from Gauteng, Western Cap and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. Ninety one percent of the strains belonged to Listeria monocytogenes Sequence Type 6. The same sequence type was identified in a widely consumed ready-to-eat processed meat product called “Polony”.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 28 March 2018)

Sweden: Salmonella

Health officials of Sweden reported 63 cases of Salmonella Kentucky infection since October 2017. The Swedish Veterinary Medicine Agency reported more than 1,000 salmonella cases in cats since the beginning of the year.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 27 March 2018)

Nigeria: Monkeypox [Update]

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reported 89 confirmed cases of monkeypox and 228 suspected cases since September 2017. Six deaths have been recorded.

(Source: ProMED-mail 27 March 2018)

Nigeria: Lassa Fever [Update]

Nigeria reported 18 new confirmed cases of Lassa fever for the week ending March 25. Totally 1,613 suspected cases, 394 confirmed cases and 134 deaths have been reported in 2018. The number of new confirmed and probable cases has been falling for 5 consecutive weeks.

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