Current Travel Health News

The Philippines Department of Health has declared a National dengue fever alert on 15 July 2019. Until 17 August 2019, 229,736 dengue cases, including 958 deaths have been recorded.

New Zealand national measles outbreak continues, with 938 cases reported up until the week ending 30 August 2019. The bulk of the cases have been reported in the Auckland area, namely Waitemata, Auckland and Counties Manukau. New Zealand Ministry of Health advises travelers to Auckland to receive vaccinations against measles at least two weeks before departure. For more information on measles, please visit the Centre for Health Protection’s thematic webpage: https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/100419.html

Bangladesh is seeing the largest outbreak of dengue fever cases in history since July this year. 70,195 cases have been recorded this year, including 57 deaths.

Spain has reported an outbreak of listeriosis linked to contaminated meat products. 204 confirmed cases including 3 deaths have been recorded. Spain’s health ministry has issued alerts to EU authorities and the World Health Organization.

New Zealand national measles outbreak continues, with 937 cases reported so far in 2019. Auckland health officials are officially reported 778 confirmed cases. New Zealand Ministry of Health advices travelers to Auckland to receive vaccinations against measles at least two weeks before departure. 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 3,017 and total number of deaths is 2,006. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern on 17 July 2019. Besides, one patient from Democratic Republic of the Congo died of the disease in Uganda. 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 cases of dengue fever and chikungunya fever (CF), and strongly urged the public to maintain strict environmental hygiene, mosquito control and personal protective measures both locally and during travel.

A. Dengue fever

From August 23 to 29, the CHP recorded 11 imported DF cases. The patients had been to the Philippines (three cases, including two epidemiologically linked cases), Malaysia (two cases), Thailand (two cases), Cambodia (one case), India (one case), Sri Lanka (one case) and multiple countries (one case, who had been to Laos and Thailand) during the incubation period.

As of August 29, 134 cases had been recorded this year, as compared with 92 cases recorded in the same period last year. All the cases recorded in 2019 were imported, mainly from Thailand (28), Malaysia (23) and Cambodia (19).

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 for this time of year. The number of cases in several countries including Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam was about two to six times the number for the same period in 2018.

According to the Health Commission of Guangdong Province, Guangdong is currently in the epidemic season of DF. As of July 31, 796 cases have been recorded in Guangdong this year, which was significantly higher than that in the same period last year (121 cases). In Taiwan, 421 cases (including 75 local cases) have been recorded in 2019 (as of August 29). According to the health authority of Taiwan, the number of imported DF cases recorded so far this year was the highest compared to the number for the same period in the past 10 years.

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 (https://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.

B. Chikungunya fever

From August 23 to 29, the CHP recorded one CF case. The patient had been to Myanmar during the incubation period. As of August 29, eight confirmed CF cases had been recorded this year, including six imported from Thailand and two imported from Myanmar.

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The total number of cases has reached 3,004 and total number of deaths is 2,006. 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 Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The total number of cases has reached 2,997, including four cases from North Kivu capital. The total number of deaths is 1,994, including two cases from Goma. 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

Sri Lanka is seeing high activity of dengue fever this year, including capital Colombo. 42,051 cases have been recorded this year. 62 deaths have been recorded.

The Philippines Department of Health has declared a National Dengue Fever alert on 15 July 2019. Until 10 August 2019, more than 208,000 dengue fever cases have been reported across the country this year. At least 900 deaths were recorded.

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is closely monitoring nine additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by Saudi Arabia from July 1 to 31. 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, of the additional cases, eight were male patients and one was a female patient, with ages from 30 to 79. Among them, one had exposure to camels and consumed camel milk, seven had underlying illnesses and four have passed away.

According to the latest information, 2 458 cases have been reported to the WHO (with 849 deaths), including 2 239 in 10 Middle East countries comprising 2 067 in Saudi Arabia, 87 in the United Arab Emirates, 28 in Jordan, 24 in Oman, 19 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

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The total number of cases has reached 2,983, including four cases from North Kivu capital. The total number of deaths is 1,990, including two cases from Goma. 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

Taiwan Centers for Disease Control recorded the second-ever case of locally transmitted Chikungunya fever in New Taipei City. There are 47 cases in Taiwan this year, 45 of which are imported cases.