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 01/01/2018 *
|
Cumulative reported no. |
Source of information and date of report |
Australia |
824 |
World Health Organization, 3 January 2019 |
Brazil |
247,393 |
World Health Organization, 17 January 2019 |
Cambodia |
9,885 |
World Health Organization, 3 January 2019 |
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 |
Lao PDR |
6,204 |
World Health Organization, 3 January 2019 |
Macao, China |
5” |
Health Bureau of Macau, 6 November 2018 |
Malaysia |
80,615 |
World Health Organization, 3 January 2019 |
Mexico |
78,621 |
World Health Organization, 17 January 2019 |
Philippines |
199,271 |
World Health Organization, 3 January 2019 |
Vietnam |
113,850 |
World Health Organization, 3 January 2019 |
Remarks:
* Dengue reporting systems vary by country/area.
“ Locally-acquired
# Cumulative cases since 2 January 2017.
|
Cumulative reported no. |
Source of information and date of report |
Japan |
3^ |
National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 15 January 2019 |
Singapore |
600@ |
Singapore National Environment Agency, 17 January 2019 |
Sri Lanka |
2,351 |
Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 17 January 2019 |
Taiwan, China |
0” |
CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 17 January 2019 |
Thailand |
715 |
Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 15 January 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.
Southeast Asia: Dengue Fever [Update]
From January 11 to 17, the CHP recorded five imported DF cases. The patients had been to Thailand (two cases), Indonesia (one case), Maldives (one case) and the Philippines (one case) during the incubation period.
As of January 17, 11 cases had been confirmed this year, all of which were imported cases. The cases were mainly imported from Malaysia (two), Maldives (two), the Philippines (two) and Thailand (two).
DF remains endemic in some areas of Asia and beyond. In Guangdong, there were 3,316 cases in 2018. The latest figures for 2019 revealed that 715 cases had been recorded in Thailand, 600 cases in Singapore (since December 30, 2018) and three in Japan.
[Editor Note: In the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere, influenza activity continued to increase slowly. In East Asia, influenza season appeared to have started, with predominantly influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 detected. In Europe, influenza activity increased, with both A viruses circulating. For more information of global influenza activity, please refer to “Flu Express ” issued by the Centre for Health Protection (CHP).
Influenza can cause serious illnesses in high-risk individuals and even healthy persons. Given that seasonal influenza vaccines are safe and effective, CHP recommends all persons aged 6 months or above except those with known contraindications to receive influenza vaccine for personal protection.
Influenza vaccine does not work right away. It takes about two weeks after influenza vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection against influenza virus infection. For prevention against influenza, vaccinated individuals should maintain good personal and environmental hygiene practices, balanced diet, regular exercise, adequate rest and no smoking.]
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Ebola Virus Disease [Update]
Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]
According to the WHO, among the four male patients and one female patient, aged 45 to 80, all had underlying illnesses, three had consumed camel milk and one had contact with previously confirmed patients.
According to the latest information, 2,279 cases have been reported to the WHO (with 806 deaths), including 2,060 in 10 Middle East countries comprising 1,901 in the KSA, 87 in the United Arab Emirates, 28 in Jordan, 19 in Qatar, 11 in Oman, six in Iran, four in Kuwait, two in Lebanon, and one each in Yemen and Bahrain.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Ebola Virus Disease [Update]