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
New Zealand: Pertussis
31 August 2026
Health
New Zealand reported last Tuesday that the national
pertussis epidemic in Aotearoa New Zealand has been declared over. The epidemic began in November 2024.
United Kingdom: Giardia infection
31 August 2026
According to data from UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA),
England saw a rise in infections with the protozoan parasite,
Giardia intestinalis.
The UKHSA reports states, the number of
Giardia laboratory reports in England rose from 5,450 cases in 2024 to 6,069 cases in 2025, an increase of 619 cases (11.4%); the number of laboratory reports in 2025 is the highest since 2016 and is above pre-pandemic levels.
Philippines: Chikungunya fever [Update]
31 August 2026
The
Philippines Department of Health’s Epidemiology Bureau reports a 36 percent increase in
chikungunya cases year to date compared to the same period in 2025.
From the beginning of the year through August 22, 901 cases were reported, compared to 662 cases reported last year.
Costa Rica: Dengue fever [Update]
31 August 2026
According to the latest data reported by the Health Surveillance Directorate, as of epidemiological week 32 of 2026, 3,437 cumulative cases of
dengue have been reported, representing a 30% increase compared to the same period in 2025, when 2,405 cases were recorded.
Ecuador: Dengue fever
31 August 2026
Ecuador has recorded 28,652 confirmed cases of
dengue fever in 2026, according to data from the Ministry of Public Health available through mid-August. This increase comes as the
Aedes aegypti mosquito shows resistance to several insecticides used to control its population.
Data from the Ministry of Public Health, updated through August 15, shows that for 11 consecutive weeks, weekly cases exceeded the 2025 figures for the same period.
In addition, 35 deaths have been reported.
USA: Powassan Virus [Update]
31 August 2026
In a follow-up on a report from late July,
Maine health officials reported the fourth
Powassan virus case of 2026 the week ending August 22.
Greece: West Nile virus infection [Update]
31 August 2026
The National Public Health Organization (EODY) reports as of August 26, a total of two hundred and thirty-two (232) domestic cases of
West Nile virus infection. Nineteen (19) deaths have been recorded in patients infected with the virus, aged over 65 years (median age of death: 85 years, range: 66 - 92 years).
Uganda: Ebola disease [Update]
31 August 2026
Uganda has completed 42 consecutive days without a new confirmed
Ebola case since the country’s last patient on July 16, ending the Ebola outbreak in the country.
Mauritius: Chikungunya fever [Update]
31 August 2026
Since August 9, the
Mauritius Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 13 new confirmed
chikungunya cases from Mauritius Island (12) and Rodrigues Island (1).
This brings the total confirmed cases since the beginning of the outbreak in early January to 6,868 - Mauritius Island (6,769) and Rodrigues Island (99), as of August 16.
Netherlands: West Nile virus infection
31 August 2026
An individual from the province of
Utrecht has died from a
West Nile virus infection, according to officials with the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).
The person contracted the West Nile virus in the Netherlands and died in a hospital. So far in 2026, there have been three cases of West Nile virus infections reported that were probably contracted in the Netherlands.
USA: Dengue fever [Update]
31 August 2026
The
Florida Department of Health reports an additional 18 locally transmitted
dengue fever cases during the week ending August 22 - 15 in Hillsborough County and three in Miami-Dade County.
USA: Measles [Update]
27 August 2026
The
Pennsylvania Department of Health of the
USA reported 94 new
measles cases in the past seven days, bringing the total to 424 through August 26. 73 people required hospitalization for their illness and two deaths were reported.
United Kingdom: Hepatitis A
27 August 2026
Health officials in
Wales are urging vaccination of young children in Barry as an increase in
hepatitis A has been recorded. There have been 11 confirmed cases in Barry since December 2025.
Italy: West Nile Virus Infection [Update]
27 August 2026
Since the beginning of the year as of August 19, 312 confirmed cases of
West Nile Virus infection in humans have been reported in
Italy (226 in the previous report), of which 156 were neuroinvasive (1 case imported from the Maldives), 40 asymptomatic cases identified in blood donors, and 115 cases of fever (1 case imported from Burkina Faso).
France: Dengue Fever, Chikungunya Fever, West Nile Virus Infection [Update]
27 August 2026
French health authorities reported 12 additional human
West Nile virus infection in the past week, bringing the total to 30 in mainland
France through August 24. In the past week, four additional
chikungunya fever and one additional
dengue fever cases were reported. As of August 24, 2026, a total of 38 autochthonous cases of chikungunya (33) and dengue (5), transmitted by Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, had been identified in mainland France.
USA: Dengue Fever [Update]
27 August 2026
The
Florida Department of Health in Citrus County of the
USA reports a confirmed case of locally-acquired
dengue fever.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Ebola Disease [Update]
27 August 2026
From the start of the outbreak through August 23, 2026, a total of 5,584 confirmed
Ebola Disease cases and 2,680 deaths have been reported in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, representing a case fatality rate of 48.0%. Over the past 24 hours, 70 new confirmed cases of Ebola Disease—including 16 community deaths—were reported.
Spain: Tuberculosis
27 August 2026
The General Directorate of Public Health of the Regional Ministry of Health of
Spain has reported two cases of
tuberculosis in workers at a farm in the province of Segovia.
Afghanistan: Poliomyelitis [Update]
27 August 2026
According to the World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, four new wild
poliovirus (WPV1) positive cases were reported this week from
Afghanistan.
Marshall Islands: Dengue fever
27 August 2026
The
Marshall Islands Ministry of Health and Human Services formally declared an active
dengue fever outbreak in Majuro Atoll on Friday. As of 20 August, 23 people had been tested, 8 confirmed positive and 15 negative, with no deaths.