Current Travel Health News

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The total number of cases has reached 3,376 and the total number of deaths is 2,232. 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

The Samoa government has lifted the state of emergency related to the recent measles outbreak as the number of cases is on declining trend. Currently, 5,667 cases have been reported including 81 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

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The total number of cases has reached 3,372 and the total number of deaths is 2,230. 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

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health reported the latest number of dengue fever (DF) cases, and strongly urged the public to maintain strict environmental hygiene, mosquito control and personal protective measures both locally and during travel.

From December 20 to 26, the CHP recorded two imported DF cases. The patients had respectively been to the Philippines (one case) and Thailand (one case) during the incubation period.

As of December 26, 197 cases had been recorded this year (including 196 imported cases and one local), as compared with 162 cases recorded in the same period last year. The imported cases were mainly from Thailand (33), Malaysia (27) and the Philippines (25).

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 this year. The numbers of cases in some countries were significantly higher than the numbers for the same period in 2018, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Separately, according to the Health Commission of Guangdong Province, as of November 30, a total of 5,986 cases had been recorded in Guangdong this year, which was significantly higher than that in the same period last year (3,250 cases). In Taiwan, as of December 26, 631 cases (including 100 local cases) had been recorded in 2019.

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). Members of the public should stay vigilant and carry out effective mosquito prevention and control measures.

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is closely monitoring three additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by Qatar. 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, this was a cluster affecting three persons aged 32 to 67. The index case is a 67-year-old woman with underlying illnesses who had passed away. The other two cases were identified through contact tracing and both are in a stable condition. Investigations are ongoing.

According to the latest information, 2,497 cases have been reported to the WHO (with 859 deaths), including 2,278 in 10 Middle East countries comprising 2,102 in Saudi Arabia, 88 in the United Arab Emirates, 28 in Jordan, 24 in Oman, 22 in Qatar, six in Iran, four in Kuwait, two in Lebanon, and one each in Yemen and Bahrain.

For more information on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, please visit the Centre for Health Protection’s thematic webpage: https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/26511.html

Malaysia is seeing dengue fever on rising trend this year. 130,101 cases have been reported this year, including 174 deaths.

Tonga is currently experiencing measles outbreak. 596 cases have been recorded. For more information on measles, please visit the Centre for Health Protection’s thematic webpage: https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/100419.html

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The total number of cases has reached 3,371 and the total number of deaths is 2,227. 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

The Samoa government has declared a state of emergency due to measles outbreak. Currently, 5,603 cases have been reported including 80 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

Tonga is currently experiencing measles outbreak. 564 cases have been recorded as of 15 December. For more information on measles, please visit the Centre for Health Protection’s thematic webpage: https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/100419.html