Travel Health Service Year 2019

Current Travel Health News

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 01/01/2019 *

 

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, 28 February 2019

Cambodia

876

World Health Organization, 14 February 2019

Guangdong, China

36

Health Commission of Guangdong Province, 15 February 2019

Japan

36^

National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 26 February 2019

Lao PDR

545

World Health Organization, 14 February 2019

Malaysia

15,469

World Health Organization, 14 February 2019

Mexico

4,674

World Health Organization, 28 February 2019

The Philippines

12,431

World Health Organization, 14 February 2019

Singapore

1,728@

Singapore National Environment Agency, 28 February 2019

Sri Lanka

8,865

Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 28 February 2019

Taiwan, China

1”

CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 28 February 2019

Thailand

7,350

Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 26 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

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 897 and the total number of deaths is 563.

 

Madagascar: Measles [Update]

Since the onset of the outbreak in September 2018, a total of 82,905 measles cases have been reported in Madagascar, including 926 deaths.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 4 March 2019)

 

Ukraine: Measles [Update]

Ukraine continues to report measles at high levels. Since the beginning of this year, 24,042 cases have been reported across the country, including 9 deaths.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 4 March 2019)

 

The Philippines: Measles [Update]

The Philippines Department of Health has declared outbreak measles cases nationwide. During 1 January – 2 March 2019, a total of 16,349 cases have been reported across the country, including 261 deaths.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 4 March 2019)

 

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) recorded 87 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since the beginning of 2019, 51 of which came from a hospital-based outbreak in Wadi-ad-Dasawir.

 

Oman: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Omani Ministry of Health recorded 13 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since the beginning of 2019, including 2 deaths from a recent second illness cluster.

 

State of Washington, USA: Measles [Update]

Since the identification of an outbreak in January 2019, USA Washington State recorded 71 confirmed cases of measles. In view of the outbreak, Washington State Government declared state of emergency on 25 January 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 888 and the total number of deaths is 557.

 

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) recorded 83 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since the beginning of 2019, 51 of which came from a hospital-based outbreak in Wadi-ad-Dasawir.

 

State of New York, USA: Measles [Update]

USA New York State continues to report measles cases. Rockland County has reached 139 cases since September 2018, while Brooklyn and Queens have reached 121 cases in total since October 2018.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 1 March 2019)

 

Canada: Measles [Update]

Health officials in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada reported an increase in measles cases, in which 15 cases were reported since February 2019.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 1 March 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 22 to 28, the CHP recorded two imported DF cases. The patients had been to Malaysia (both cases epidemiologically linked to a case recorded last week) during the incubation period.

As of February 28, 28 cases had been confirmed this year, all of which were imported cases. The cases were mainly imported from Indonesia (seven), Malaysia (seven), Sri Lanka (four) and Thailand (four).

DF remains endemic in some areas of Asia and beyond. The latest figures for 2019 revealed that 7 350 cases had been recorded in Thailand, 1 728 in Singapore (since December 30, 2018) and 36 in Japan. In the Americas, the latest figures indicated that 4 674 cases were filed in Mexico in 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 885 and the total number of deaths is 555.

 

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) recorded 82 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since the beginning of 2019, 51 of which came from a hospital-based outbreak in Wadi-ad-Dasawir.

 

Tanzania: Anthrax

An anthrax outbreak occurred in Kilimanjaro region, northern Tanzania. 2 people died and 8 additional people were hospitalized. The source of infection was believed to be consumption of tainted meat.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 28 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 879 and the total number of deaths is 551.

 

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is closely monitoring 36 additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) from February 1 to 13. 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 29 male patients and 7 female patients, aged 16 to 84, 12 had underlying illnesses, 8 had exposure to camels and consumed camel milk, 33 had contact with previously confirmed patients, and 9 were health care workers.

 

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 875 and the total number of deaths is 551.

 

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [Update]

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) recorded 81 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since the beginning of 2019, 51 of which came from Wadi-ad-Dasawir.

 

Japan: Measles [Update]

In Japan, the largest outbreak of measles recorded in a decade continues. 222 cases have been reported so far this year as of 20 February 2019.

(Source: Outbreak News Today 26 February 2019)

 

Japan: Rubella [Update]

In Japan, 528 rubella cases were reported so far this year as of 20 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 26 February 2019)

 

State of Washington, USA: Measles [Update]

Since the identification of an outbreak in January 2019, USA Washington State recorded 66 confirmed cases of measles. In view of the outbreak, Washington State Government declared state of emergency on 25 January 2019.

(Source: Washington State Department of Health 26 February 2019)