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. 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.
For more information on dengue fever, including the latest situation in neighbouring and overseas countries and areas, please visit the Centre for Health Protection’s thematic webpage at https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/38847.html
Take precautions against Mpox (also known as monkeypox) when travelling abroad
Mpox (also known as monkeypox) is a zoonotic disease caused by Mpox virus. Often found in tropical forest regions of Central and West Africa.
It is mainly transmitted by contact with infected animals, human-to-human transmission is limited. Incubation period is mainly from 6 to 13 days, symptoms are similar with Smallpox infection, but less severe.
Since 6 May 2022, multiple outbreaks were reported in Europe and North America countries, and many patient are self-identified as bisexual or men who have sex with men. Travellers planning to travel in these areas should avoid contact
with infected person. Travellers returning from these areas shall notify the doctor to seek medical treatment and inform the travel situation if feeling unwell.
For more information on Mpox, including the latest situation in overseas countries or places, please visit the World Health Organization and Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection’s thematic webpages at: https://www.who.int/health-topics/monkeypox#tab=tab_1
https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/105683.html
South Africa: Measles [Update]
10 July 2023
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported 10 laboratory-confirmed
Measles cases detected in
South Africa, most of which were from Limpopo, during the past week. This brings the total confirmed measles cases in the country to 1100 since October 2022.
Bangladesh: Dengue Fever [Update]
10 July 2023
Officials in
Bangladesh reported more than 800
Dengue Fever cases and two deaths Saturday, bringing the total for the year to 12,118. More than 600 cases were reported from the city of Dhaka. The death toll from dengue has risen to 67.
Argentina: Dengue Fever [Update]
10 July 2023
Through the first half of 2023,
Argentina health officials have reported 126,431 cases of
Dengue–118,089 autochthonous, 1,398 imported and 6,944 under investigation. 65 fatalities have been reported to date (0.05% CFR)–The highest mortality rates correspond to those over 80 years of age.
Philippines: Dengue Fever and Leptospirosis [Update]
10 July 2023
The Quezon City in the Philippines reported 1,160 cases of Dengue from January 1 to June 24, 2023. In addition, the city tallied a total of 32 Leptospirosis cases from January 1 to June 24, 2023.
Health officials in Palawan province on sounded the alarm over a surge in dengue cases numbering 3,274 from January to June in various municipalities.
The Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) has warned the public on the increasing cases of leptospirosis that have reached 107 including two deaths as of June 24 this year.
Afghanistan: Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever [Update]
10 July 2023
During the last week of June 2023, a total of 48 new cases of
Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) (15 cases were confirmed positive by PCR) and 3 new deaths were reported in
Afghanistan. This brings the total CCHF cases to 422 from 31 provinces since the beginning of 2023.
Burkina Faso, Chad and Nigeria: Poliomyelitis [Update]
10 July 2023
Three African nations reported more
Polio cases this week, all involving vaccine-derived types, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative said in its weekly update.
Burkina Faso reported its first circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) case of the year, which was in Gaoua.
Chad reported 2 more cVDPV2 cases in different locations, putting its total for the year at 10. And
Nigeria reported 6 more such cases from four different areas, raising its 2023 total to 16.
Nigeria: Diphtheria [Update]
7 July 2023
As of June 30th, 2023, there have been 798 confirmed
Diphtheria cases in
Nigeria. Most of the cases (782) were recorded in Kano. So far, a total of 80 deaths have been recorded among all confirmed cases (case fatality rate of 10.0%).
USA: Malaria [Update]
7 July 2023
The Florida Department of Health reported two additional locally acquired
Malaria cases in the past week, bringing the state total to six.
Peru: Dengue Fever [Update]
7 July 2023
The
Peru Ministry of Health reports 176,860 total
Dengue Fever cases this season through June 24. This total compares with 2022 when Peru saw 44,657 during the same period and 25,358 cases in 2021. The department of Piura has seen the most cases with 51,393, followed by Lima (27,632) and Lambayeque (20,075).
Taiwan: Cholera
7 July 2023
The
Taiwan Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports the first local confirmed case of
Cholera of 2023. Source of infection has yet to be confirmed.
USA: Mpox (monkeypox) [Update]
7 July 2023
The
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 24 more
Mpox cases over the past week. The new cases raise the national total since early 2022 to 30,555. No new deaths were reported.
Denmark: Pertussis
7 July 2023
Denmark's Pertussis cases have shown a spike since May. Health officials said about 80 to 100 cases are detected each month, but cases rose to 104 in May and at least 284 in June.
Sri Lanka: Dengue Fever [Update]
6 July 2023
Sri Lanka’s National Dengue Control Unit reports that as of July 4, 50,054 total
Dengue cases were reported in the island country in 2023 to date, including 31 deaths.
India: Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever
6 July 2023
According to health officials in Gujarat state, on the western coast of
India, a 51-year old man from Lakhapar village in Kutch’s Anjar taluka has reportedly died due to
Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF).
Bangladesh: Dengue Fever [Update]
6 July 2023
After reporting nearly 600 additional
Dengue cases on July 5, health officials in
Bangladesh now report 10,455 total dengue cases and 62 dengue related deaths for the year.
Laos: Dengue Fever [Update]
6 July 2023
From the beginning of the year through July 4,
Laos officials have reported 7,885 total
Dengue cases and the number of deaths increased to three.
Indonesia: Anthrax
6 July 2023
Health officials in
Indonesia report dozens of people in in Indonesia’s Yogyakarta province have been infected with
Anthrax. One person has been confirmed dead from anthrax and 85 others have found to be infected after all of them consumed infected meat.
Taiwan: Dengue Fever [Update]
5 July 2023
The
Taiwan Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported an additional 101 new local
Dengue cases were reported the week of June 27 to July 3, 2023. The majority of new cases were reported from Tainan City (92 cases), followed by Yunlin County (6 cases) and Kaohsiung City (3 cases).
Japan: Measles [Update]
4 July 2023
The Japan National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) reports 18 Measles cases this year through June 21.
Cases were reported from Tokyo (6), Osaka (4), Ibaraki (1), Chiba (1), Kanagawa (1), Shizuoka (1), Hyogo (2), Tottori (1), and Hokkaido (1).
This is the most cases reported in Japan since the 2019 outbreak.
Thailand: Mpox (monkeypox)
4 July 2023
Thailand health officials reported a significant increase in
Mpox cases in June 2023, with 48 new mpox cases in June, a 129 percent increase from the 21 cases reported in May 2023.