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.
Detailed information on the latest Dengue fever situation in Hong Kong, as well as neighbouring and overseas countries and areas, can be found at the Centre for Health Protection’s website: https://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/df_imported_cases_and_overseas_figures_eng.pdf
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 wer
e 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
Pakistan: Poliomyelitis [Update]
25 April 2025
In a follow-up on the wild
poliovirus situation in
Pakistan, health officials report a confirmed polio case in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This is the seventh case of 2025 in Pakistan.
Taiwan: Chikungunya Fever
25 April 2025
The
Taiwan Centers for Disease Control announced Tuesday that there have been a total of 11 imported cases of
chikungunya virus so far this year, the highest number since 2007.
Brazil: Dengue Fever [Update]
25 April 2025
In
Brazil, 1.07 million cases of
dengue fever have been reported in 2025, with 742 deaths.
Panama: Oropouche Fever [Update]
25 April 2025
A total of 286 cases of the
Oropouche virus have been confirmed in the Darien and East
Panama health regions, according to the Ministry of Health's Epidemiology Department.
Belize: Malaria
25 April 2025
The Ministry of Health & Wellness informs the public of the recent confirmation of 3 locally transmitted
malaria cases in the
Cayo District. These cases mark the first instances of local transmission in over six years.
St. Lucia: Norovirus Infection
25 April 2025
According to the
St. Lucia Ministry of Health, over the past five weeks, health facilities have seen a steady increase in individuals presenting with symptoms of gastroenteritis linked to
Norovirus.
Iraq: Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever [Update]
25 April 2025
Iraq Health officials reported two additional deaths due to
Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic fever in consecutive days in Al-Muthanna province. This brings the number of fatalities this year to four. The total number of infections has risen to 22 across the country to date.
Reunion: Chikungunya Fever [Update]
25 April 2025
During the past week, officials at Regional Health Agency La
Reunion reported 4,304 confirmed indigenous
chikungunya cases, bringing the total cases since the beginning of the year to 39,532.
Puerto Rico: Dengue Fever [Update]
25 April 2025
According to the
Puerto Rico Department of Health, from January 1 to April 1, 1,016 confirmed
dengue cases were reported and another 253 probable cases, totaling 1,269 cases.
South Africa: Diphtheria [Update]
25 April 2025
Between 1 January 2024 and 13 April 2025, 43 confirmed cases of respiratory
diphtheria, 1 probable respiratory diphtheria case and 40 asymptomatic carriers of toxigenic C. diphtheriae, detected during contact tracing, have been identified in
South Africa.
Brazil: Oropouche Fever [Update]
25 April 2025
In a follow-up on the
Oropouche fever outbreak in
Brazil, Brazil health officials report 8,901 confirmed cases from the beginning of the year through April 22.
Malawi: Mpox
25 April 2025
The World Health Organization
Malawi office states that Malawi declared a
mpox outbreak on April 17, after detecting its first three confirmed cases.
(Source: CIDRAP 23 April 2025)
Japan: Pertussis [Update]
23 April 2025
Cases of
whooping cough in
Japan have hit a record high for the third week in a row. The Japan Institute for Health Security says medical institutions across the country reported 1,222 cases in the week through April 13. The number of cases since the beginning of this year stands at 7,084, already surpassing last year's total by about 3,000.
Iraq: Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever [Update]
22 April 2025
In a follow-up on a recent report,
Iraq health authorities report five new cases of
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever have been confirmed, bringing the nationwide total to 19 since the beginning of 2025.
Israel: Measles
22 April 2025
The
Israel Ministry of Health reports a
measles case in an individual from the Tel Aviv area.
Vietnam: Measles [Update]
22 April 2025
The
Vietnam Ministry of Health said that from April 12 to April 17, the country recorded 4,122 suspected
measles cases, down 8.8% compared to the previous week, and recorded 2 measles-related deaths.
USA: Measles [Update]
22 April 2025
The Department of Health in
Virginia,
Montana,
Missouri and
Louisiana report first
measles case(s) of the year.
Colombia: Yellow Fever [Update]
22 April 2025
The National Government of
Colombia declares a public health emergency due to the active circulation of the
yellow fever virus in several regions of the country and the risk of its spread to urban centers. Between September 2024 and today, 75 cases and 34 deaths have been confirmed in the country, representing a cumulative fatality rate of 45.3%.
Philippines: Mpox
22 April 2025
The
Davao City Health Office received information from the Department of Health Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit confirming two cases of
mpox on Wednesday April 16, 2025.
Australia: Legionnaires’ disease
22 April 2025
New South Wales Health confirmed there have now been 12 cases of
Legionnaires' disease, all in people who spent time in the Sydney CBD between March 13 and April 5. One death has been reported.
USA: Pertussis [Update]
22 April 2025
Pertussis cases have jumped more than 1,500% in the
USA since 2021. So far, just over 7,100 cases have been reported, which is double the number of cases at this time last year.
Argentina: Leishmaniasis
22 April 2025
Between 2019 and 2024, 990 confirmed cases of cutaneous
leishmaniasis were reported in
Argentina. 59.3% of the cases occurred in the Northwest Argentine region, where Salta and Jujuy reported 385 and 165 cases, respectively. The Northeast Argentine region is the region with the next highest number of reports (35.5% of the total), mainly in Misiones (135 cases) and Chaco (131 cases).
Samoa: Dengue Fever
22 April 2025
The Ministry of Health hereby officially announces to the public that there is a
Dengue Fever outbreak in
Samoa. There has been a significant increase in the number of confirmed cases from the island of Upolu over the past two weeks. There are now 15 confirmed cases of Dengue Fever reported since January. 9 of these cases were reported within the past two weeks.
Reunion: Chikungunya Fever [Update]
22 April 2025
In an update on the
chikungunya epidemic in La
Reunion, officials with Regional Health Agency La Reunion reported an additional 4,913 confirmed cases during the week ending April 6. This brings the outbreak total this year to 33,835 indigenous cases.
Canada: Measles [Update]
22 April 2025
In
Canada, 149 new cases of
measles (132 confirmed, 17 probable) were reported in week 14, 2025. To date in 2025, 880 cases of measles (748 confirmed, 132 probable) have been reported in Canada.