Current 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. |
Source of information and date of report |
Australia |
810 |
World Health Organization, 1 August 2019 |
Brazil |
1,345,994 |
World Health Organization, 8 August 2019 |
Guangdong, China |
394 |
Health Commission of Guangdong Province, 12 July 2019 |
India |
5,504 |
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 26 May 2019 |
Japan |
182^ |
National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 6 August 2019 |
Lao PDR |
15,657 |
World Health Organization, 1 August 2019 |
Malaysia |
75,913 |
World Health Organization, 1 August 2019 |
Mexico |
39,770 |
World Health Organization, 8 August 2019 |
The Philippines |
130,463 |
World Health Organization, 1 August 2019 |
Singapore |
9,600@ |
Singapore National Environment Agency, 8 August 2019 |
Sri Lanka |
36,427 |
Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 8 August 2019 |
Taiwan, China |
359 |
CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 8 August 2019 |
Thailand |
64,159 |
Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 6 August 2019 |
Vietnam |
115,186 |
World Health Organization, 1 August 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.
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From August 2 to 8, the CHP recorded six imported DF cases. The patients had been to Cambodia (two cases), the Philippines (two cases), Malaysia (one case) and Thailand (one case) during the incubation period.
As of August 8, 105 cases had been recorded this year, as compared with 56 cases recorded in the same period last year. All the cases recorded in 2019 were imported, mainly from Thailand (19), Cambodia (18) and Malaysia (18).
The CHP has been closely monitoring the latest DF situation in neighbouring and overseas areas. DF is endemic in many tropical and subtropical areas of the world. According to the World Health Organization, some Asian countries are experiencing unusually high numbers of DF cases for this time of year. Detailed information on the latest DF situation in Hong Kong as well as neighbouring and overseas countries and areas this year has been uploaded to the CHP's website (www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/df_imported_cases_and_overseas_figures_eng.pdf)
9 August 2019
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8 August 2019
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7 August 2019
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