Travel Health Service Year 2019

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, 3 January 2019
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, 3 January 2019
Philippines	106,386	World Health Organization, 6 December 2018
Singapore	3,301^@	Singapore National Environment Agency, 3 January 2019
Sri Lanka	51,203	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 3 January 2019
Taiwan, China	183”	CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 31 December 2018
Thailand	84,830	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 3 January 2019
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 has reached 625 and the total number of deaths is 377.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 7 January 2019)

Poland: Measles

Poland reported a five-fold increase in measles in 2018. Poland recorded 339 measles cases in 2018, a significant increase from the 63 cases reported the year prior.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 7 January 2019)

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

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The number of cases reached 613, 565 of which have been confirmed.

(Source: ProMED-mail 5 January 2019)

Japan: Syphilis [Update]

Japan reported an additional 600 syphilis cases in past 4 weeks.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 5 January 2019)

Burundi: Cholera

From 25 December to 1 January 2019, a total of 111 cholera cases with one death were reported from Rumonge health district, Burundi.

(Source: World Health Organization 4 January 2019)

Nigeria: Yellow Fever [Update]

The outbreak of yellow fever which started in Nigeria in September 2017 is ongoing. As of 30 December 2018, 4004 suspected cases with 33 deaths have been reported.

(Source: World Health Organization 4 January 2019)

Jamaica: Dengue Fever

Jamaica reported 830 total dengue cases in 2018, much higher than the 70 total cases reported the previous year.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 4 January 2019)

Australia: Measles

Australia NSW Health is warning people to be alert for signs and symptoms of measles, after three infectious cases have been notified in the Christmas-New Year period.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 2 January 2019)

Nigeria: Monkeypox [Update]

Nigeria continues to report monkeypox. A total of 114 suspected, 45 confirmed, one probable cases and one death have been reported in 2018.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 1 January 2019)