Current Travel Health News

Since March this year, there were 789 children infected with Enterovirus 71 in Fuyang municipal of Anhui Province. Among them, 19 died of the disease and 204 were still receiving treatment in the hospital.

(Source: Xinhuanet 28 April 2008)

In Taiwan, there were 86 suspected cases of severe Enterovirus Infection associated with EV71 so far this year. Among them, 39 were confirmed cases and 35 of them were children under year of 5.

(Source: Centers for Disease Control, Taiwan 24 April 2008)

In Bangladesh, as of 21 April, there were more than 3 000 cases of diarrhea including 2 deaths reported in Barisal Province. The capital, Dhaka also had hundreds of diarrheal patients over the last week.

In West Bengal, India, 2 people died of Cholera over the last 5 days; around 60 people were suffering from the disease.

In Malaysia, there were 6 confirmed cases of Cholera in Labuan. All of them were admitted to hospital and were in stable condition.

In Vietnam, from 5 March and 22 April, the Ministry of Health reported 2 490 non-fatal cases of acute watery diarrhea; 377 of them were confirmed to be Cholera. The majority of people infected by the disease were Hanoi residents.

(Source: World Health Organization 22 April 2008 and ProMED-mail 25 April 2008)

As of 19 April, Singapore Ministry of Health reported some 7 600 Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease cases, a 70% increase as compared with the same period last year. As of 26 April, there were 26 nurseries and preschool education centres in Singapore voluntarily closed for ten days because of the disease situation.

(Source: Ministry of Health, Singapore 21 April 2008 and the Central News Agency 26 April 2008)

South Korea confirmed a new outbreak of Avian Influenza at a chicken farm in North Jeolla Province, making a total of 16 outbreaks reported in the country in the past two weeks.

(Source: ProMED-mail 21 April 2008)

Authorities in Tripura State of India prepared to cull thousands of chickens after a fresh outbreak of Avian Influenza in poultry was detected. More than 25 000 chickens and ducks have already been slaughtered in this remote northeastern state of India earlier this month after 8 villages were hit by the H5N1 strain.

(Source: ProMED-mail 23 April 2008)

Switzerland has been affected by a Measles epidemic since November 2006. About 1,800 cases of Measles, predominantly among unvaccinated children, had been reported to the Federal Office of Public Health by mid-March 2008. The outbreak has spread to neighbouring European countries including Germany, Denmark, Austria, France and to the United States. Public health authorities in Europe planned to immunize unvaccinated children and recommended that any person visiting these countries should, if needed, obtain vaccination against Measles prior to travel.

(Source: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe 16 April 2008)

Argentine confirmed a new case of Yellow Fever in the region bordering Brazil, making a total of 6 cases, including one death, in the country. This case was a man from Misiones Province, who has been discharged from hospital and was recovering at home

(Source: ProMED-mail 28 April 2008)

In Brazil, a surge in the number of Dengue Fever cases was noted in the northeastern region where heavy rainfalls hit the region for nearly one month. The states affected included Sergipe, Rio Grande do Norte, Alagoas , Bahia and Ceara.

(Source: ProMED-mail 21 April 2008)

The Ministry of Health, Liberia reported one additional confirmed case of Yellow Fever, who was a 30-year-old man from Nimba County.

(Source: World Health Organization 25 April 2008)