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 01/01/2018 *

	Cumulative reported no. of cases since 01/01/2018	Source of information and date of report
Australia	486	World Health Organization, 16 August 2018
Brazil	239,389	World Health Organization, 30 August 2018
Cambodia	4,657	World Health Organization, 16 August 2018
Guangdong	121	Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, 14 August 2018
India	14,233	Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 22 July 2018
Japan	90	National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 28 August 2018
Lao PDR	3,428	World Health Organization, 16 August 2018
Macau	1”	Health Bureau of Macau, 19 June 2018
Malaysia	44,613	World Health Organization, 16 August 2018
Mexico	23,211	World Health Organization, 30 August 2018
Philippines	20,108	World Health Organization, 16 August 2018
Singapore	1,846^@	Singapore National Environment Agency, 30 August 2018
Sri Lanka	36,546	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 30 August 2018
Taiwan	55”	CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 30 August 2018
Thailand	50,079	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 29 August 2018
Vietnam	39,692	World Health Organization, 16 August 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.

Niger: Cholera

The cholera outbreak in Niger that started in early July has now topped 2,000 cases. Since the beginning of the outbreak on 5 July 2018, a total of 2,013 suspected cholera cases, including 37 deaths have been reported.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 3 Sept 2018)

Mauritius: Measles

From March through late August, 808 confirmed measles cases, including three deaths, have been reported in Mauritius.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 3 Sept 2018)

Myanmar: Rabies

Officials at Yangon General Hospital in Myanmar reported at least 18 human deaths due to rabies during the first eight months of the year.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 3 Sept 2018)

Brazil: Measles [Update]

In a follow-up on the Brazil measles outbreak, as of August 28, 1,553 cases have been confirmed and 6,975 remain under investigation.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 1 Sept 2018)

Malaysia: Mumps

The Malaysia Ministry of Health (MOH) reported investigating an mumps outbreak among students. The outbreak involved 21 male students between 13 to 17 years old.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 1 Sept 2018)

Israel: West Nile virus infection [Update]

The Israel Ministry of Health has recorded 74 human West Nile virus infection cases as of this week, including three fatalities.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 1 Sept 2018)

Democratic Republic of Congo: Ebola Virus Disease [Update]

The current Ebola outbreak in North Kivu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to develop and poses considerable regional risk. According to the DRC health ministry's daily update, the 116 Ebola cases include 86 confirmed and 30 probable cases. Also, health officials are investigating 8 suspected cases. The total number of deaths is 77.

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

Democratic Republic of Congo: Ebola Virus Disease [Update]

The current Ebola outbreak in North Kivu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to develop and poses considerable regional risk. According to the DRC health ministry's daily update, the 115 Ebola cases include 85 confirmed and 30 probable cases. Also, health officials are investigating 10 suspected cases. The total number of deaths is 77.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 30 Aug 2018)

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

Since the beginning of August 2018, there have been a total of 5 newly confirmed cases of MERS-CoV infection of which 2 were reported to have died, 2 were reported to have recovered, and the latest confirmed case does not have an outcome reported yet. Of the 5 newly confirmed cases, all were primary cases, with 2 cases having a history of contact with camels in the 14 days preceding onset of their illness, and 3 having no history of camel contact.

(Source: Pro-MED Mail 30 Aug 2018)

Algeria: Cholera [Update]

The Algerian Ministry of Health, Population and Hospital Reform says 59 out of the 172 patients hospitalized for symptoms of cholera since August 7 have been confirmed positive for cholera, and 26 others were negative. 2 deaths have been reported.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 30 Aug 2018)

Democratic Republic of Congo: Ebola Virus Disease [Update]

The current Ebola outbreak in North Kivu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to develop and poses considerable regional risk. According to the DRC health ministry's daily update, the 112 Ebola cases include 84 confirmed and 28 probable cases. Also, health officials are investigating 18 suspected cases. The total number of deaths is 72.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 29 Aug 2018)

United States: Measles

Pinellas County, Florida health officials have identified four additional cases of measles in unvaccinated people since the first one was announced on August 13. The number of cases in the county now stands at 7.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 29 Aug 2018)

Japan: Rubella

According to the Japan National Institute of Infectious Diseases, as of last week, 184 rubella cases have been reported in Japan, exceeding the number of cases reported last year. The Tokyo-Chiba area has seen the bulk of cases with 109.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 28 Aug 2018)