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
Guinea-Bissau: Mpox
20 July 2026
In Guinea Bissau, on West Africa’s Atlantic coast, the Ministry of Public Health reported one confirmed
mpox case from
Bafata region of the eastern part of the country on July 4.
Spain: Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever [Update]
20 July 2026
In a follow-up report on locally acquired
Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever in Spain, the Junta de Castilla y León, through the General Directorate of Public Health, has confirmed a second case of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever in the province of
Salamanca.
Taiwan: Japanese Encephalitis [Update]
20 July 2026
In a follow-up from Taiwan, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control announced the confirmation of three new cases of
Japanese encephalitis —one each in
Guanyin District of Taoyuan City,
Taoyuan District of Taoyuan City, and
Huatan Township of Changhua County.
Afghanistan: Poliomyelitis
20 July 2026
According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative this week, Afghanistan reported four new wild
poliovirus cases in three Afghan provinces over the past week -
Hirat,
Hilmand and
Nangarhar - bringing the country’s total since the start of 2026 to 11.
USA: Vibrio Vulnificus Infection [Update]
20 July 2026
The
Florida Department of Health reported one additional
Vibrio vulnificus case in Lee County during the week ending July 10. This brings the state total to 10 cases in 2026 to date.
USA: Legionnaires' Disease [Update]
20 July 2026
The
New York City Health Department in an update Friday, now reports 71 cases in the community cluster of
Legionnaires' disease in the Upper East Side neighborhoods of Carnegie Hill and Yorkville.
Costa Rica: Chikungunya Fever [Update]
20 July 2026
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Level 2 - Practice Enhanced Precautions travel notice for
Costa Rica due to a
chikungunya outbreak in Guanacaste Province. On July 1, 2026, Costa Rica’s Ministry of Health declared an outbreak in Playa Langosta.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Ebola Disease [Update]
20 July 2026
The
Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded, as of July 15, 2026, a total of 2,124 confirmed cases of
Ebola, including 828 deaths, 390 recoveries and 725 patients in isolation or hospitalization, according to the situation report published on July 16 by the government through the National Institute of Public Health.
Mexico: Leishmaniasis
20 July 2026
Mexico is facing an outbreak of
leishmaniasis, with 400 confirmed cases so far this year, four times the figure recorded in 2025; 97% of the total is concentrated in four states in the country’s southeast, the federal Health Secretariat revealed.
USA: Cyclosporiasis [Update]
20 July 2026
The
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services continues to see a sharp rise in
cyclospora infection cases as officials report 4,312 total cases, including 102 requiring hospitalization for their illness, through July 16.
USA: Measles [Update]
20 July 2026
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced 2,260 confirmed
measles cases so far in 2026, all but 15 of them locally acquired.
Pennsylvania confirmed eight new measles cases this week, and 109 total.
Utah, the state with the largest active outbreak, lists three new cases, for a 2026 total of 510.
Idaho this week recorded one new case, raising its 2026 total to 24.
Philippines: Chikungunya Fever [Update]
16 July 2026
In a follow-up on the Samar
chikungunya fever outbreak, Provincial Health Office Samar of the
Philippines report the number of suspect chikungunya cases are now at 225- with the highest number of suspected cases with 124, followed by Gandara with 98, and Paranas with three.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Ebola Disease [Update]
16 July 2026
The Epidemiological report from the
Democratic Republic of the Congo Ministry of Health (MOH) on the
Ebola Disease outbreak from July 14 states 42 affected health zones spread across five provinces are affected.
Sri Lanka: Dengue Fever [Update]
16 July 2026
The number of
dengue fever cases reported in
Sri Lanka now stands at 69,951 through July 13. In July alone, 14,572 cases have been reported to date. Western province leads the country with nearly 37,000 cases, accounting for 52.6 percent of the country total. The death toll has risen to 48.
USA: Measles [Update]
16 July 2026
The Wyoming Department of Health,
United States, confirmed a third case of
measles in Teton County, marking the state’s first measles outbreak of 2026 and the fourth case statewide (Freemont County).
USA: Cyclosporiasis [Update]
16 July 2026
The parasitic infection,
cyclosporiasis, is spreading across the country and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
USA, reports as July 9, 843 cases in 31 states. However, the CDC numbers are lagging as proven by the numbers being reported by Michigan health officials, which as of today have reported in excess of 2,500 cases. From May 1 to July 14, 2026, 307 cases of cyclosporiasis and 13 hospitalizations have been reported in North Carolina.
Bangladesh: Avian influenza [Update]
16 July 2026
In mid-June,
Bangladesh health authorities reported to the World Health Organization one laboratory-confirmed human case of
avian influenza A(H5) infection in Bangladesh in a child from Sylhet Division.
Chad: Cholera
16 July 2026
The Ministry of Health in
Chad declared a
cholera outbreak in mid June after the confirmation of Vibrio cholera O1 Ogawa in two patients in Karal Health district, Hadjer Lamis province. Transmission has since spread to 18 villages across five health areas in the districts. As of June 29, 120 total cases, including 7 confirmed and four deaths have been reported.
Cameroon: Cholera
16 July 2026
The
Cameroon Ministry of Health confirmed a
cholera outbreak on June 29 after four patients tested positive for Vibrio cholera O1 Ogawa from Mada and Makary districts in the Far North region. As of June 30, 121 total cholera cases, including four confirmed, and eight deaths have been reported.