Travel Health Service Year 2019

Current Travel Health News

Travel Health News

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 01/01/2019 *

 

Cumulative reported no.
of cases since 01/01/2019

Source of information and date of report

Australia

203

World Health Organization, 14 March 2019

Brazil

229,064

World Health Organization, 3 April 2019

Cambodia

1,330

World Health Organization, 28 February 2019

Guangdong, China

52

Health Commission of Guangdong Province, 15 March 2019

Japan

66^

National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 2 April 2019

Lao PDR

978

World Health Organization, 14 March 2019

Malaysia

26,545

World Health Organization, 14 March 2019

Mexico

8,759

World Health Organization, 3 April 2019

The Philippines

36,664

World Health Organization, 14 March 2019

Singapore

2,278@

Singapore National Environment Agency, 3 April 2019

Sri Lanka

12,748

Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 3 April 2019

Taiwan, China

1”

CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 3 April 2019

Thailand

13,677

Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 2 April 2019

Vietnam

38,122

World Health Organization, 14 March 2019

* Dengue reporting systems vary by country/area.
@Cumulative cases since 30 December 2018.
^ Cumulative cases since 31 December 2018.
” 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 total number of cases has reached 1,154, including 1,088 confirmed and 66 probable cases. The total number of deaths is 731.

 

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) recorded 123 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since the beginning of 2019. Wadi-ad-Dasawir recorded 57 cases which were mostly associated with hospital-based outbreak.

 

Nigeria: Lassa fever [Update]

Nigeria health officials reported a total of 526 Lassa fever cases since the beginning of the year in an ongoing outbreak. 121 fatalities were recorded.

 

State of Michigan, USA: Measles [Update]

USA Michigan State has reported measles outbreak.41 cases have been recorded since 13 March 2019, 39 from Oakland County, one from Washtenaw County and one from Wayne County.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 8 April 2019)

 

State of New Jersey, USA: Measles

USA New Jersey State health officials have declared measles outbreak on 15 March 2019. So far, 9 cases have been recorded.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 5 April 2019)

 

New Zealand: Measles [Update]

New Zealand health officials have declared measles outbreak recently. 67 cases have been confirmed across the country this year, including 39 cases from Canterbury.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 5 April 2019)

 

Mainland, China: Avian Influenza [Update]

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health received notification of a human case of avian influenza A (H7N9) in Gansu from the National Health Commission, and again urged the public to maintain strict personal, food and environmental hygiene both locally and during travel.

The male patient from Jiuquan, aged 82, has been hospitalised for management and his condition is serious now. This is the first case reported in the Mainland this year.

 

Southeast Asia: Dengue Fever [Update]

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health reported the latest number of cases of dengue fever (DF), and again urged the public to maintain strict environmental hygiene, mosquito control and personal protective measures both locally and during travel.

From March 15 to April 3, the CHP recorded four imported DF cases. The patients had been to Cambodia (one case), Fiji (one case), Myanmar (one case) and As of April 3, 35 cases had been confirmed this year, all of which were imported cases. The cases were mainly imported from Indonesia (seven), Malaysia (seven) and Thailand (six).

DF remains endemic in some areas of Asia and beyond. The latest figures for 2019 revealed that 13 677 cases had been recorded in Thailand, 2 278 in Singapore (since December 30, 2018) and 66 in Japan. In the Americas, the latest figures indicated that 229 064 and 8 759 cases were filed in Brazil and Mexico respectively in 2019.

 

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

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The total number of cases has reached 1,100, including 1,034 confirmed and 66 probable cases. The total number of deaths is 683.

 

Nigeria: Lassa fever [Update]

Nigeria health officials reported a total of 510 Lassa fever cases since the beginning of the year in an ongoing outbreak. 119 fatalities were recorded.

 

State of Michigan, USA: Measles [Update]

USA Michigan State has reported measles outbreak.34 cases have been recorded since 13 March 2019, 33 from Oakland County and one from Wayne County.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 3 April 2019)

 

State of New York, USA: Measles [Update]

USA New York State continues to report measles cases. Rockland County has reached 153 cases since September 2018. A county wide State of Emergency has been issued by health officials of the county. Brooklyn and Queens have reached 259 cases in total since October 2018.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 3 April 2019)

 

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

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The total number of cases has reached 1,092, including 1,026 confirmed and 66 probable cases. The total number of deaths is 683.

 

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) recorded 116 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since the beginning of 2019. Wadi-ad-Dasawir recorded 57 cases which were mostly associated with hospital-based outbreak. Meanwhile, a case of fatality was reported yesterday.

 

State of Michigan, USA: Measles [Update]

USA Michigan State has reported measles outbreak.30 cases have been recorded since 13 March 2019, 29 from Oakland County and one from Wayne County.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 2 April 2019)

 

The Philippines: Measles [Update]

The Philippines Department of Health has declared outbreak measles cases nationwide. During 1 January – 26 March 2019, a total of 25,676 cases have been reported across the country, including 355 deaths.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 2 April 2019)

 

New Zealand: Measles [Update]

New Zealand health officials have declared measles outbreak recently. 10 cases have been confirmed in Auckland this year. Meanwhile, 39 cases have been confirmed in Canterbury.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 2 April 2019)

 

Reunion Island: Dengue Fever

The dengue fever outbreak on Reunion Island continues in 2019. A total of 3,048 cases have been reported since the beginning of the year.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 2 April 2019)