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	1,150	World Health Organization, 24 October 2019
Brazil	2,070,170	World Health Organization, 14 November 2019
Guangdong, China	5,315	Health Commission of Guangdong Province, 15 November 2019
India	91,457	Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 31 October 2019
Japan	407^{^}	National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 12 November 2019
Lao PDR	33,728	World Health Organization, 24 October 2019
Malaysia	104,746	World Health Organization, 24 October 2019
Mexico	213,822	World Health Organization, 14 November 2019
The Philippines	348,893	World Health Organization, 24 October 2019
Singapore	14,218^@	Singapore National Environment Agency, 14 November 2019
Sri Lanka	69,778	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 14 November 2019
Taiwan, China	577	Taiwan Centers for Disease Control, 14 November 2019
Thailand	114,449	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 12 November 2019
Vietnam	124,751	World Health Organization, 24 October 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]

19 November 2019

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The total number of cases has reached 3,296 and the total number of deaths is 2,195. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern on 17 July 2019. For more information on Ebola virus disease, please visit the Centre for Health Protection’s thematic webpage: https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/34199.html

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

Samoa: Measles

19 November 2019

The Samoa government has declared a state of emergency due to measles outbreak. Currently, 716 cases have been reported including 6 deaths. For more information on measles, please visit the Centre for Health Protection’s thematic webpage: https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/100419.html

(Source: Outbreak News Today 18 November 2019)

Pakistan: Dengue fever [Update]

19 November 2019

Pakistan has recorded high dengue fever activity this year. 49,587 cases including 79 deaths have been reported this year.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 18 November 2019)

Mainland China: Plague [Update]

18 November 2019

Officials in Inner Mongolia, China report a third plague case, this time it’s bubonic. The patient was a 55 male who consumed hare before.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 17 November 2019)

(Source: Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention 18 November 2019)

Pakistan: Poliomyelitis

18 November 2019

In Pakistan, two wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases raise the country's total this year to 82, a significant increase over last year's total of 12. The new case-patients are both from Lakki Marwat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 15 November 2019)

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

15 November 2019

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The total number of cases has reached 3,292 and the total number of deaths is 2,192. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern on 17 July 2019. For more information on Ebola virus disease, please visit the Centre for Health Protection’s thematic webpage: https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/34199.html

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

Mainland China: Plague [Update]

15 November 2019

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health received notification from the National Health Commission of two cases of pneumonic plague affecting a man aged 48 and a woman aged 46 in Inner Mongolia.

The male patient is a herder while the female patient is his wife. According to epidemiological investigations and clinical presentations, the couple were diagnosed to have pneumonic plague on November 12.

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 14 November 2019)

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

14 November 2019

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The total number of cases has reached 3,291 and the total number of deaths is 2,192. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern on 17 July 2019. For more information on Ebola virus disease, please visit the Centre for Health Protection’s thematic webpage: https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/34199.html

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

Mainland China: Plague

14 November 2019

Health authorities in Beijing confirmed two people from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region contracted pneumonic plague, and are now receiving treatment in a medical institution in Chaoyang District, Beijing.

(Source: ProMED-mail 13 November 2019)

The Americas: Dengue Fever

13 November 2019

In the Region of the Americas, the number of cases reported in 2019 as of week 42 is the largest recorded in the history of dengue fever in the Americas, exceeding by 13% the number of cases reported in the epidemic year of 2015.

Five countries in the Americas with the highest incidence rates include Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Brazil.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 12 November 2019)

(Source: Epidemiological Update, Dengue , PAHO 11 November 2019)