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	91	World Health Organization, 14 February 2019
Brazil	74,668	World Health Organization, 14 February 2019
Cambodia	876	World Health Organization, 14 February 2019
Japan	32^{^}	National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 12 February 2019
Lao PDR	545	World Health Organization, 14 February 2019
Malaysia	15,469	World Health Organization, 14 February 2019
Mexico	3,201	World Health Organization, 14 February 2019
The Philippines	12,431	World Health Organization, 14 February 2019
Singapore	1,339^@	Singapore National Environment Agency, 14 February 2019
Sri Lanka	7,225	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 14 February 2019
Taiwan, China	1”	CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 14 February 2019
Thailand	5,191	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 13 February 2019
Vietnam	15,540	World Health Organization, 14 February 2019

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

Cumulative reported number of dengue cases between 01/01/2018 and 31/12/2018 *

	Cumulative reported no. of cases since 01/01/2018	Source of information and date of report
Guangdong, China	3,316	Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, 15 January 2019
India	89,974	Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 25 November 2018
Macao, China	5”	Health Bureau of Macau, 6 November 2018

Remarks:
* Dengue reporting systems vary by country/area.
” 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 840 and the total number of deaths is 537.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 18 February 2019)

The Philippines: Measles [Update]

The Philippines Department of Health has declared outbreak measles cases nationwide. During 1 January – 16 February 2019, a total of 8,443 cases have been reported across the country, including 136 deaths.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 18 February 2019)

State of Washington, USA: Measles [Update]

Since the identification of an outbreak in January 2019, USA Washington State recorded 61 confirmed cases of measles. In view of the outbreak, Washington State Government declared state of emergency on 25 January 2019.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 18 February 2019)

Madagascar: Measles [Update]

Since the onset of the outbreak on 3 September 2018, a total of 66,000 measles cases have been reported in Madagascar, including 922 deaths.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 18 February 2019)

Uganda: Cholera

A cholera outbreak was declared in early January 2019 at Kampala, Uganda. As of 10 February, 53 cases have been reported, including 3 deaths.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 18 February 2019)

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is closely monitoring 14 additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) , including 3 deaths, reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) between January 1 and 31. The CHP again urged the public to pay special attention to safety during travel, taking due consideration of the health risks in the places they visit.

According to the WHO, among the 13 male patients and one female patient, aged 33 to 86, 12 had underlying illnesses, two had consumed camel milk and five had contact with previously confirmed patients.

According to the latest information, 2,298 cases have been reported to the WHO (with 811 deaths), including 2,079 in 10 Middle East countries comprising 1,915 in the KSA, 87 in the United Arab Emirates, 28 in Jordan, 19 in Qatar, 16 in Oman, six in Iran, four in Kuwait, two in Lebanon, and one each in Yemen and Bahrain.

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 18 February 2019)

State of Washington, USA: Measles [Update]

Since the identification of an outbreak in January 2019, USA Washington State recorded 59 confirmed cases of measles. In view of the outbreak, Washington State Government declared state of emergency on 25 January 2019.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 17 February 2019)

Canada: Measles

Health officials in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada reported an increase in measles cases, in which 9 cases were reported since February 2019.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 17 February 2019)

The Philippines: Measles [Update]

The Philippines Department of Health has declared outbreak measles cases nationwide. During 1 January – 13 February 2019, a total of 6,921 cases have been reported across the country, including 115 deaths.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 17 February 2019)

Japan: Measles

In Japan, 148 measles cases were reported so far this year as of 3 February 2019, the highest for the same period of time since 2013.

(Source: Japan National Institute of Infectious Diseases 17 February 2019)

Japan: Rubella [Update]

In Japan, 367 rubella cases were reported so far this year as of 3 February 2019.

[Editor Note: In recent months, there is a significant increase of rubella cases in Japan.

Pregnant women and women preparing for pregnancy who are non-immune to rubella are advised not to travel to areas with ongoing rubella outbreaks.

Members of the public should review their vaccination history and past medical history at least two weeks before departure. People may be considered as non-immune to rubella if they did not have rubella infection confirmed by laboratory test before and had not been vaccinated against rubella. For those who had not been vaccinated, with unknown vaccination history or unknown immunity against rubella, they (especially pregnant women and children aged under one year who are not due for the first dose of Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) combined vaccine in Hong Kong) are advised to consult doctor for advice.]

(Source: Outbreak News Today 17 February 2019)

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 835 and the total number of deaths is 530.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 15 February 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 again urged the public to maintain strict environmental hygiene, mosquito control and personal protective measures both locally and during travel.

From February 8 to 14, the CHP confirmed seven imported DF cases. The patients had been to Indonesia (three cases, including two epidemiologically linked cases), Sri Lanka (three cases, including two epidemiologically linked cases and one case epidemiologically linked to a case recorded last month) and Thailand (one case) during the incubation period.

As of February 14, 21 cases had been confirmed this year, all of which were imported cases. The cases were mainly imported from Indonesia (six), Sri Lanka (four), Maldives (three) and Thailand (three).

DF remains endemic in some areas of Asia and beyond. The latest figures for 2019 revealed that 12,431 cases had been recorded in the Philippines, 5,191 cases in Thailand, 1,339 in Singapore (since December 30, 2018) and 32 in Japan. In Taiwan, one local case has been recorded in 2019. In the Americas, the latest figures indicated that 74,668 and 3,201 cases were filed in Brazil and Mexico respectively in 2019.

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 15 February 2019)

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 829 and the total number of deaths is 521.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 14 February 2019)

Oman: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Omani Ministry of Health recorded 10 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since the beginning of 2019, including 4 deaths.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 14 February 2019)

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) recorded 61 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since the beginning of 2019, including 1 death.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 14 February 2019)

State of New York, USA: Measles [Update]

USA New York State continues to report measles cases. Rockland County has reached 135 cases since September 2018, while Brooklyn has reached 73 cases since October 2018.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 14 February 2019)

France: Measles

Savoie, France has reported an outbreak of measles cases. 5 cases have been confirmed in Val Thorens.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 13 February 2019)

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 823 and the total number of deaths is 517.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 13 February 2019)

Ukraine: Measles [Update]

Ukraine continues to report measles at high levels. From 28 Dec 2018 to 8 Feb 2019, 18,170 cases have been reported across the country, including 8 deaths.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 13 February 2019)

Jamaica: Dengue Fever

Jamaica reported 1,023 total dengue cases since 2019, including 6 deaths in children.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 13 February 2019)

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 819 and the total number of deaths is 516.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 12 February 2019)

Oman: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is closely monitoring five additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), including two deaths, reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by Oman between January 27 to 31, and again urged the public to pay special attention to safety during travel, taking due consideration of the health risks in the places they visit.

According to the WHO, this was a household cluster affecting five female patients aged 30 to 59. Among them, three had underlying illnesses and four had contact with previously confirmed patients. They resided on a farm where dromedary camels and other animals were kept.

According to the latest information, 2,311 cases have been reported to the WHO (with at least 811 deaths).

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 12 February 2019)

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) recorded 59 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since the beginning of 2019.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 12 February 2019)

Madagascar: Measles [Update]

Since the onset of the outbreak on 3 September 2018 to 5 February 2019, a total of 53,459 measles cases have been reported in Madagascar, including 312 deaths.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 12 February 2019)