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 01/01/2019 *

	Cumulative reported no. of cases since 01/01/2019	Source of information and date of report
Australia	701	World Health Organization, 4 July 2019
Brazil	1,127,244	World Health Organization, 4 July 2019
Guangdong, China	240	Health Commission of Guangdong Province, 13 June 2019
India	5,504	Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 26 May 2019
Japan	141^{^}	National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 2 July 2019
Lao PDR	8,042	World Health Organization, 4 July 2019
Malaysia	62,421	World Health Organization, 4 July 2019
Mexico	24,756	World Health Organization, 4 July 2019
The Philippines	92,267	World Health Organization, 4 July 2019
Singapore	6,543^@	Singapore National Environment Agency, 4 July 2019
Sri Lanka	25,216	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 4 Jly 2019
Taiwan, China	229	CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 4 July 2019
Thailand	40,402	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 2 July 2019
Vietnam	81,132	World Health Organization, 4 July 2019

* Dengue reporting systems vary by country/area.
@Cumulative cases since 30 December 2018.
^ Cumulative cases since 31 December 2018.

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 2,418. The total number of deaths is 1,625.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 8 July 2019)

Ukraine: Measles [Update]

Ukraine continues to report measles at high levels. 55,776 cases have been reported across the country this year, including 18 deaths.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 8 July 2019)

India: Japanese Encephalitis [Update]

Health officials in State of Assam, India are reporting outbreak of Japanese encephalitis. 190 cases have been reported this year, including 49 deaths.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 7 July 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 2,389. The total number of deaths is 1,606.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 5 July 2019)

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) has been continually reporting cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. The latest total number of cases recorded stands at 156 this year.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 5 July 2019)

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 strongly urged the public to maintain strict environmental hygiene, mosquito control and personal protective measures both locally and during travel.

From June 28 to July 4, the CHP recorded six imported DF cases. The patients had been to Malaysia (two cases), Maldives (two cases), Cambodia (one case) and Thailand (one case) during the incubation period.

As of July 4, 73 cases had been recorded this year, all of which were imported. The cases were mainly imported from Thailand (15), Malaysia (14) and Indonesia (12).

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 5 July 2019)

Honduras: Dengue Fever

Honduras government has declared state of emergency in 12 out of 18 departments in mid-June due to ongoing dengue fever epidemic. 11,436 cases have been reported in the first week of June, including more than 4,000 severe cases and 63 deaths.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 3 July 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 2,369. The total number of deaths is 1,598.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 3 July 2019)

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) has been continually reporting cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. The latest total number of cases recorded stands at 155 this year.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 3 July 2019)

Taiwan, China: Japanese encephalitis [Update]

Taiwan has reached transmission season of Japanese encephalitis. 11 cases have been recorded this year, including 4 cases in Kaohsiung City, 2 cases in Chiayi City, 2 cases in Pingtung County, 1 case in Chiayi County, 1 case in Changhua County and 1 case in Hsinchu County. A fatal case was recorded in Kaohsiung City.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 2 July 2019)

Myanmar: Schistosomiasis

High numbers of schistosomiasis infection have been reported in Rakhine State of Myanmar. More than 200 cases have been reported this year.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 2 July 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 2,354. The total number of deaths is 1,586.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 2 July 2019)

Reunion Island: Dengue Fever [Update]

The dengue fever outbreak on Reunion Island continues in 2019. Over 16,000 cases have been reported since the beginning of the year.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 2 July 2019)