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: Rabies [Update]
2 November 2023
In
South Africa, The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported an additional human
Rabies case in KwaZulu-Natal Province. The case was confirmed on September 28.
Uganda: Anthrax
2 November 2023
The
Uganda Ministry of Health reported an outbreak of
Anthrax in Kween district, eastern Uganda on October 26. Cumulatively, five cases (3 confirmed; 2 suspected) and no deaths have been reported.
Cameroon and Republic of the Congo: Yellow Fever
2 November 2023
Twenty-four additional
Yellow Fever cases and one death were reported in the countries of
Cameroon and
Congo, according to the Africa CDC.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Measles [Update]
2 November 2023
From the first to the 41st week, the Kasaï province in
Democratic Republic of the Congo reported 36,326 suspected cases and 1,248 deaths from
Measles, representing a mortality rate of 3.4%.
Burkina Faso: Chikungunya Fever [Update]
2 November 2023
This week, 122 new cases and no new deaths of Chikungunya were reported from Burkina Faso.
Cumulatively, 489 cases (254 confirmed; 235 suspected) and no deaths of chikungunya have been reported in three of 70 districts in Burkina Faso.
USA: Dengue Fever [Update]
2 November 2023
Florida state health officials reported 20 additional locally-transmitted
Dengue Fever cases in the past week, bringing the state total to 98 for the year. All twenty of the new autochthonous cases were reported from Miami-Dade County.
Laos: Dengue Fever [Update]
2 November 2023
Laos Ministry of Health reports that as of October 29, 32,265
Dengue Fever cases have been reported since the beginning of the year. This is a 20.9 percent increase in cases compared to the same time in 2022 when 26,689 cases were reported.
Ukraine: Hepatitis A
2 November 2023
Health officials in
Ukraine report an outbreak of
Hepatitis A in the Vinnytsia region in the central part of the country. 151 patients remain in the hospitals, 25 have already been discharged.
Thailand: Dengue Fever [Update]
2 November 2023
Year to date,
Thailand health officials have reported 119,465 total
Dengue cases (including 27,557 cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever and 1,015 cases of dengue shock syndrome). In addition, dengue deaths this year are also much higher. To date, 122 dengue deaths have been reported in Thailand.
South Korea: Malaria [Update]
2 November 2023
South Korea is reporting a sharp rise in
Malaria cases this year, the highest since 2011, according to the Korea Herald, which cites data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Of 719 cases reported as the middle of October, 657 were locally acquired.
(Source: CIDRAP 1 November 2023)
Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar and Kenya: Poliomyelitis [Update]
31 October 2023
Four countries reported more
Polio cases this week, including
Pakistan, which reported another wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case, bringing its total for the year to four, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative said in its latest weekly update. Three African nations reported more vaccine-derived cases, including the
Democratic Republic of the Congo and
Madagascar, with more circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1) cases, and
Kenya, with another circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) case.
(Source: CIDRAP 28 October 2023)
USA: Salmonella [Update]
31 October 2023
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on October 25 a Salmonella Thompson outbreak linked to fresh diced onions that has sickened at least 73 people, some of them nursing home residents, in 22 states in USA.
So far, 15 people have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported. The illnesses began on August 2, with September 25 as the latest illness-onset date. California and Utah have confirmed the most infections, each having 17 cases.
(Source: CIDRAP 26 October 2023)
USA: Dengue Fever [Update]
31 October 2023
California reported a locally acquired
Dengue case, the state’s first, though the virus hasn’t yet been identified in local mosquito populations.
(Source: CIDRAP 24 October 2023)
Guinea: Diphtheria [Update]
31 October 2023
The World Health Organization (WHO) said a
Diphtheria outbreak in
Guinea has sickened at least 538 people since July, 58 of them fatally, for a 10.8% case-fatality rate, with young children the hardest-hit group.
(Source: CIDRAP 19 October 2023)
Chad: Dengue Fever [Update]
31 October 2023
Chad health officials declared a
Dengue Fever outbreak on August 15, and so far, 1,342 suspected cases have been reported, 41 of them lab confirmed. One death was reported among the patients with lab-confirmed cases.
(Source: CIDRAP 17 October 2023)