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	569	World Health Organization, 6 June 2019
Brazil	1,127,244	World Health Organization, 27 June 2019
Cambodia	1,330	World Health Organization, 28 February 2019
Guangdong, China	240	Health Commission of Guangdong Province, 13 June 2019
India	5,504	Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 26 May 2019
Japan	136^{^}	National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 25 June 2019
Lao PDR	4,216	World Health Organization, 6 June 2019
Malaysia	52,941	World Health Organization, 6 June 2019
Mexico	20,414	World Health Organization, 27 June 2019
The Philippines	77,040	World Health Organization, 6 June 2019
Singapore	5,957^@	Singapore National Environment Agency, 27 June 2019
Sri Lanka	23,795	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 27 June 2019
Taiwan, China	208	CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 27 June 2019
Thailand	35,482	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 26 June 2019
Vietnam	59,959	World Health Organization, 6 June 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]

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The total number of cases has reached 2,338. The total number of deaths is 1,563.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 1 July 2019)

India: Japanese Encephalitis

Health officials in State of Assam, India are continually reporting cases of Japanese encephalitis 59 cases were reported this year, including 22 deaths.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 1 July 2019)

New Zealand: Measles [Update]

New Zealand national measles outbreak continues, with 260 cases reported so far in 2019. Auckland health officials are officially reported 149 confirmed cases.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 1 July 2019)

United Kingdom: Mumps

Public Health England has reported significant rise of mumps cases in England since the last quarter of 2018. 756 cases have been recorded in the first quarter this year, which is the highest since the second quarter of 2014 when 784 cases were confirmed.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 30 June 2019)

Southeast Asia: Dengue Fever [Update]

Regarding the latest dengue fever (DF) situation in Hong Kong, from June 21 to 27, the CHP recorded two imported DF cases. The patients had been to Indonesia (one case) and Malaysia (one case) during the incubation period.

As of June 27, 67 cases had been recorded this year, all of which were imported. The cases were mainly imported from Thailand (14), Indonesia (12) and Malaysia (12).

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 28 June 2019)

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

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The total number of cases has reached 2,284. The total number of deaths is 1,531.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 27 June 2019)

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) has been continually reporting cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. The latest total number of cases recorded stands at 154 this year.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 27 June 2019)

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

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The total number of cases has reached 2,277. The total number of deaths is 1,522.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 26 June 2019)

Taiwan, China: Japanese encephalitis [Update]

Taiwan has reached transmission season of Japanese encephalitis. 10 cases have been recorded this year, including 4 cases in Kaohsiung City, 2 cases in Chiayi City, 2 cases in Pingtung County, 1 case in Chiayi County and 1 case in Hsinchu County. A fatal case was recorded in Kaohsiung City.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 26 June 2019)

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

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The total number of cases has reached 2,265. The total number of deaths is 1,510.

(Source: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 25 June 2019)

State of New York, USA: Measles [Update]

USA New York State continues to report measles cases. Brooklyn and Queens have reached 609 cases in total since September 2018. Rockland County has reached 275 cases since September 2018.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 25 June 2019)