Current Travel Health News

As of 24 April 2009, the United States Government has reported seven confirmed human cases of Swine Influenza A/H1N1 in the USA (five in California and two in Texas) and nine suspect cases. All seven confirmed cases had mild Influenza-Like Illness (ILI), with only one requiring brief hospitalization. No deaths have been reported.

 

The Government of Mexico has reported three separate events. In the Federal District of Mexico, surveillance began picking up cases of ILI starting 18 March. The number of cases has risen steadily through April and as of 23 April there are now more than 854 cases of pneumonia from the capital. Of those, 59 have died. In San Luis Potosi, in central Mexico, 24 cases of ILI, with three deaths, have been reported. And from Mexicali, near the border with the United States, four cases of ILI, with no deaths, have been reported.

 

Of the Mexican cases, 18 have been laboratory confirmed in Canada as Swine Influenza A/H1N1, while 12 of those are genetically identical to the Swine Influenza A/H1N1 viruses from California.

 

The majority of these cases have occurred in otherwise healthy young adults. Influenza normally affects the very young and the very old, but these age groups have not been heavily affected in Mexico.

 

Because there are human cases associated with an animal influenza virus, and because of the geographical spread of multiple community outbreaks, plus the somewhat unusual age groups affected, these events are of high concern.

 

(Source: World Health Organization 24 April 2009)

In Singapore, 146 people have been affected by a mass Vibrio parahaemolyticus Food Poisoning incident involving an Indian rojak stall at the Geylang Seai temporary market. The transmission was caused by a cross-contamination of rojak and raw seafood ingredients.

(Source: ProMED-mail 13 April 2009)

The Ministry of Health of Egypt reported two new human cases of H5N1 Avian Influenza. The two patients were a 33-year-old woman and a 18-month-old girl from Kafr El Sheikh Governorate. Both of them had close contact with sick poultry before the onset of illness and were hospitalized on 15 April.

(Source: World Health Organization 17 & 20 April 2009)

Between 1 January and 8 April 2009, there have been 5 471 confirmed cases of Pertussis reported in New South Wales, Australia. This represents an increase in cases compared to the same period in previous years. 

(Source: National Travel Health Network and Center 14 April 2009)

Since 1 January this year, there were 871 cases of Meningococcal Meningitis in Republic of Chad, among which, 102 patients died.

(Source: ProMED-mail 17 April 2009)

Since the beginning of 2009, 114 cases of Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome have been reported in the Republic of Udmurtiya. This is 6 times the rate recorded during the same period of last year.

(Source: ProMED-mail 14 April 2009)

In Mainland, an outbreak of H5N1 Avian Influenza among poultry was reported in Lhasa, with 1 679 fowl culled.

(Source: China Daily 19 April 2009)